It’s been a little over two weeks now since Ken Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens stole the show at the NHL draft when they traded picks 16th and 17th overall, plus Emil Heineman, for top-pairing defenseman Noah Dobson.
Even better, it was a sign-and-trade deal, meaning the Canadiens now have eight years of Dobson at $9.5 M AAV, an amount which is inferior to what the player was reported to be asking from the New York Islanders.
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In a recent interview with RG.org, Isles’ number one netminder, Ilya Sorokin, mentioned that he was surprised Dobson was traded, but added that the salary cap does force teams to make tough decisions.
For the netminder, it was clear that with their cap situation, the Long Island outfit had to make a choice; they couldn’t keep Dobson and former Canadiens’ defenseman Alexander Romanov, who’s a good friend of his.
He mentioned to RG.org that Romanov has grown and matured a lot, and that his hard work earned him his new eight-year, $6.25 M AAV contract. Considering Romanov was already a hard worker when he played in Montreal a few years ago, that’s not hard to imagine at all. The Russian blueliner was always the first player on the ice in Brossard and trained with a smile every day, a contagious attitude that makes for a good leader.
Back to Dobson, Sorokin adds that the PEI native got a good deal with the Canadiens and that he wishes him nothing but the best. The goalkeeper also mentioned former Habs netminder and now Isles’ coach Patrick Roy in the interview, explaining that the goaltending legend doesn’t usurp the role of his goaltending coach. Roy only gave goaltending advice a couple of times throughout the year.
With Romanov, Heineman, and Jonathan Drouin now playing for New York, Roy coaching the team, and Mathieu Darche being hired as the GM, the Islanders have got themselves quite a former Canadiens contingent. Will the Islanders become the Quebecers’ second team like in the good old Mike Bossy days? It remains to be seen.
Photo credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
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