Is Alex Romanov Worth a First-Round Pick?
Alex Romanov is the newest New York Islander. Lou Lamoriello shook up the draft floor last night in two different ways. The first was reportedly backing out on the Vancouver Canucks. Insiders thought a deal was in place with star forward JT Miller heading to Long Island for a return including the 13th overall pick. However, talks broke down at the eleventh hour. Lou then pivoted and sent the pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Romanov and pick No. 98 in the draft. The plot then thickened even more as Montreal sent No. 13 along with No. 66 to the Blackhawks for Kirby Dach. The hockey world was scratching its heads for a good five minutes, but the dust has now settled. It must be asked, is giving up a lottery pick for the young Russian worth it for the Islanders?
Short-Term Answer: Yes
After thinking it through, I believe that this is a gamble worth taking for the Islanders. At 22, Romanov is young and could turn into a great player. In my limited interactions with Canadiens fans, they were big fans of Romanov. Some buzz words that came up included “great skater,” “can hit anything,” “great shot but doesn’t shoot,” and even “the Islanders won this trade.” One Habs fan went as far as comparing him to Alexei Emelin. Others were worried that Romanov would become the next Mikhail Sergachev, which should be music to Isles fans’ ears.
There are, however, definitely cons to the pros that Romanov offers. At face value, Islanders fans had the torches and pitchforks ready because they missed out on JT Miller. Furthermore, Romanov is still a fairly raw defenseman and sometimes makes mistakes in his own end. There are still things he needs to figure out, considering he is a very physical player. More importantly, seeing how he meshes with Noah Dobson is a very important step. However, it’s worth noting that he was only a minus-nine for one of the worst Montreal teams in a long time. Him and Dobson were born only one day apart, and both Romanov and Ilya Sorokin are very close friends.
Long-Term Answer: Probably
This is a deal that could potentially work out great for both sides. Montreal has its hands full this offseason with limited cap space. They were going to struggle to sign Romanov, an RFA, to a new deal. The draft capital combined with moving on from Romanov helped them stay both young and cheap with Dach in the fold. From the Islanders’ point of view, Romanov is exactly the profile of defenseman they wanted. Great skater, can move the puck, is not afraid to be physical, and fits well within their timeline. Lou would have had to pay the piper if he wanted to get Jakob Chychrun out of Arizona. Instead, he could use the assets he saved to make more deals, potentially for a forward or another defenseman.
You have to give him credit for thinking outside the box for getting a crucial need met. As well, assets like Anthony Beauvillier, Simon Holmstrom, and other draft picks are still there to make trades. You also can’t discount the fourth-round pick the Isles picked up in the deal. They could either be more aggressive and include No. 98 as another asset or even move their 65th or 78th picks and keep 98 in hopes of a guy they like on their board falling. This is certainly a deal to look back on in the next few years to see whether it’s a win-win.
And Now We Wait
Alex Romanov has the tools to become a great defenseman and long-term partner to Dobson. This trade is not exactly Lamoriello playing 4D chess, but it is an important deal that helps the Islanders stay young and competitive. On the other side of it, Montreal has to swallow a tough pill in losing a young fan favorite. However, they should be happy about the young core they’re building after adding both Juraj Slafkovsky first overall as well as Kirby Dach. Even more exciting is that the 2022 offseason is far from over, with rounds two and three of the draft starting Friday. Both teams could find even more ways over the next few weeks and months to get better.
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