So the Habs get a player who, over the course of playing for the worst offensive team in the NHL for three years, produced as a second liner. They also get him at $1.1-million.

That last point is something I don't think is being hammered home enough. At a cap hit of $1.1-million, he will make half of what Lance Bouma makes, just over one-third of Deryk Engelland, half of Nick Spaling's cap hit, $500K less than Jared Boll, and the list goes on and on. It's also a one-year deal. If the Habs aren't happy with his work ethic, or any other buzz word, by the end of October or November, fire him onto waivers and that's that.

There really isn't much to lose here. The Habs either get a second line winger that they desperately needed, or they add another player to the waiver wire abyss. The Habs still have over $6-million in cap space, so even if they have to eat the deal for a year, it's not going to hurt them. I just don't see the downside. He produces, or he's gone. It's not like they signed him to a 5-year, $35-million contract.

Fantasy Take

Of course, there's fantasy value here if Semin does stick around in the top-six forward mix. The team desperately needs a second line right winger since they bought out P.A. Parenteau – unless the belief is Dale Weise is good for that role, or Zack Kassian establishes himself. That second line could be something of Galchenyuk-Plekanec-Semin, which could work out well.

As I mentioned above, the elite goal scoring days of Semin are certainly gone. He did take well above three shots per game in his first two seasons with Carolina though, before it pretty much cratered in half last year. Even a modest rebound in that regard with a 75-game season could see 15-20 goals from Semin, with about 25 assists.

Again, this is all dependent on him showing work ethic and production. He could have a 20-goal, 45 point season, or he could be on the NHL waiver wire by Halloween.

For fantasy, he's nothing but a last round pick. Just as this contract is a "show me" contract for the Habs and Semin, this is a "show me" year for Semin and fantasy owners. Don't pay any kind of real price at the draft table for him.