Canadiens: How Much Is Alexander Romanov Worth?

The Montreal Canadiens have a lot on their plate this summer. Kent Hughes has to trade Shea Weber’s contract, find a new home for Jeff Petry and his family, not to mention having to take decisions on the plethora of free agents that will need to be re-signed or let go.

One of the biggest decisions will be what to offer Alexander Romanov. The Russian defenceman has quickly become a fan favorite, most notably for his love of hitting, and continues to progress as time continues. Currently, he is the defenceman with the highest time, a situation he has seen since Martin St. Louis has taken over coaching duties.

It’s clear that Romanov is at worst a second pairing defenceman, but he sometimes shows flashes of being able to handle top pairing minutes and duties. Perhaps he can be the replacement to Ben Chiarot.

There is no need to be afraid of anyone making a hostile offer to Romanov as he is considered a 10.2 (c) restricted free agent. That means he has not accrued enough games played in order to be exposed to other teams or negotiate via arbitration.

So what kind of offer do you make to Romanov? A bridge contract? A mid-term contract that runs 3 maybe 4 years? Or do you pull a Nick Suzuki and offer him an 8 year deal? Regardless of what the Canadiens do, it will be very interesting to see how Kent Hughes handles these contract negotiations given that he is a former agent.

If the way of the bridge contract is considered, a comparable would be Ethan Bear of the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s on the final year of a 2 year deal worth $4 million total when he was with the Edmonton Oilers. A contract he also signed when he was 22.

In the mid-term options, a comparable is Erik Cernak of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cernak is in the second year of a 3 year deal totalling $8.85 million for a $2.95 million cap hit.

Finally, if we go long term, Noah Hanifin of the Calgary Flames is a comparable and signed a 6 year $29.7 million contract at age 22. His cap hit is $4.95 million and holds an 8 team no trade list for the final two years of his contract. Romanov turned 22 this past January.

A similar contract was signed by Brandon Carlo of the Boston Bruins as he put pen to paper on a 6 year $24.6 million carrying a $4.1 million annual cap hit. He also has no trade clauses in his contract.

It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Romanov is offered Hanifin or Carlo type money. However, i’m convinced the Canadiens will go the bridge contract route and offer a two year deal in order to manage the salary cap a little easier.

Then again, the same thing was said before Nick Suzuki ended up signing a mammoth 8 year $63 million contract. Anything can happen at this point.

What do you think? What kind of contract should the Canadiens offer Alexander Romanov? Comment below! 

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