When the New York Islanders traded Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, they gained some cap flexibility, and they wasted no time utilizing it. On Monday afternoon, Mathieu Darche made his first big signing, or at least the first he intended to keep, when he put pen to paper with former Hab Alexander Romanov.
The 25-year-old left-handed defenseman is on Long Island to stay; he has signed an eight-year contract extension with an annual average value of $ 6.25 million. Romanov was initially drafted by the Canadiens in the second round of the 2018 draft with the 38th pick overall. Back then, the pick was considered a reach, but the young Russian has gained a lot of respect around the league.
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At the 2022 draft, the Canadiens sent him to the Islanders for a first-round pick to flip the pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Kirby Dach trade. Since then, he has become a fixture on the Isles’ blueline.
In 64 games this season, he put up 20 points and picked up 20 penalty minutes while landing 147 hits. A rugged defenseman who doesn’t shy away from physical play, Romanov saw over 22 minutes of ice time on average this season and skated alongside Dobson on the Isles’ first pairing.
While Romanov must have been celebrating, the situation was much different for another former Canadiens’ defenseman. The Columbus Blue Jackets did not extend a qualifying offer to Jordan Harris and will therefore become an unrestricted free agent at noon on July 1st.
Harris was acquired from the Canadiens in exchange for sniper Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round pick. This season, he appeared in only 33 games with the Ohio outfit, contributing five points while averaging just 11:23 of ice time. In his last season in Montreal, he was skating just under 17 minutes and 30 seconds a night.
Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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