Alexander Romanov may soon be out of the Islanders’ plans

Many Canadiens fans are happy to have let go of Alexander Romanov for Kirby Dach in 2022. While Dach has become a popular player with the Montreal crowd, Romanov is also doing quite well with the Islanders.

The only problem in this story is that Romanov could be in hot water because of his contract. His contract will expire after next season, at the same time as Noah Dobson’s.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic explained in a recent piece that Romanov’s contract situation could be more complicated than expected due to Dobson’s contract.

Part one of our #Isles mailbag – questions about the PK, the future of the D corps and morehttps://t.co/neyGYmGxFo

– Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 30, 2024

In fact, we already know that the Islanders are going to empty the bank to ensure they retain Noah Dobson’s services for the long term. He’s the best defenseman on the team and one of the best in the NHL. He deserves it.

Staple believes Romanov’s contract could be affected. In his opinion, Romanov’s contract will depend on how he performs during the 2024-25 season.

Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield already have long-term contracts, and they could be the reason why Islanders management decides to remove Romanov from their plans.

Staple expects either a one-year contract with a slight increase in salary over his current $2.5 million per season, or a three-year contract that would push him toward full autonomy in 2028.

With 20:50 minutes of average playing time per game in 2023-24, Romanov was the Islanders’ third most-used player behind Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson. He’s getting his chance to shine, and he hasn’t done a bad job of it, finishing last season with the Islanders’ best differential (+23).

Staple’s point is that Romanov must force the hand of his managers with superb performances in 2024-25. Unfortunately, he is the victim of a payroll management problem, and choices will have to be made.

Romanov’s contract certainly won’t be New York’s number-one priority at the end of next season, with the contracts of Noah Dobson, Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson all set to expire.