On 25 September 2012, it was announced that for the time of 2012–13 NHL lockout, Semin would sign with Sokol Krasnoyarsk from Russian Major League, the Russian second-tier hockey division. He would wear jersey number 28 with the club. Despite the fact he had offers from top-level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) clubs, he chose to play for a club from his hometown for free. However, after playing four games with Sokol, Semin signed a contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL. The president of Torpedo, Oleg Kondrashov, praised Semin for joining Sokol at first, saying, "The player's decision to pay tribute to the team that brought him up does credit to him," though he also added, "But a player of such high level should play in KHL."