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At the beginning of the offseason, I made a few predictions. I predicted that Ryan Suter would go to Detroit, Zach Parise would stay in New Jersey, and I didn’t even bother figuring which team Alexander Semin would end up with, because I assumed he was going to head to his homeland of Russia.

Well, Suter and Parise went to the Wild, and now Alexander Semin has signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. The lesson here is that I don’t know anything. Unfortunate, when my job as a hockey writer would seem to entail getting at least one prediction right.

The Hurricanes stated going into the offseason looking to upgrade their offense, and they have done so, doubling up on Staals and now adding Semin. Alexander Semin comes to the ‘Canes with a bit of an image problem, one that limited his free agency options with many clubs skittish about adding such a question mark.

He saw his stats drop the last two years, primarily his assist number in 2010-11, then his goals last year, but he merely fit in on a team that was disappointing when finishing throughout the last two seasons. Perhaps Semin does have an attitude problem, but he is going to approach 30 goals and 30 assists next year, especially if he gets on a line with one or both Staals on the roster. He may be the third scorer for the Hurricanes, but last year’s second highest scorer for Carolina was Jussi Jokinen, with 46 points. Semin had 54 in 65 games.

Even if he performs at the same level of last season, he will provide much needed offensive depth in Raleigh.

Ice Insiders Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive