Alexander Romanov Could be leaving the NHL..
It was a huge surprise this weekend when the Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes would make a ballsy decision to trade Habs fan favorite Alex Romanov to the New York Islanders.
However the New York Islanders could lose Romanov as the CSKA Moscow of the KHL have been trying steal the Russian defender from the NHL.
Romanov is a pending restricted free agent The 22-year-old is in talks with the Islanders sign him to a new deal however his old KHL team reportedly trying to get him to return home.
According to Sport24.ru, CSKA Moscow recently offered Romanov a two-year contract worth 120 million rubles. That's 60 million per season, which is just a smidge under $1 million dollars USD.
Romanov spent two seasons with CSKA before coming to North America to play for the team that drafted him 38th overall in 2018 the Montreal Canadiens. Romanov was dealt to the Islanders in a move to acquire Kirby Dach is a second deal.
Arpon Basu at the Athletic wrote this about Romanov
Romanov has been deployed like a veteran, leading the Canadiens in minutes, facing difficult opposition, starting shifts in his own end, doing everything you ask of a top-pairing defender aside from playing on the power play.
Back on March 26, Romanov set a new career-high in ice time with 27:16, and he spent the majority of that time 15:40, to be exact facing Auston Matthews.
Romanov is 22. He has played 127 [ed. now 133] NHL games. He is, in fact, not a veteran.
But the fact he is playing like one is one of the more under-the-radar positive developments for the Canadiens this season.
- Apron Basu
