Alexander Romanov signed an eight-year contract with the New York Islanders on Monday. Financial terms were not announced.
The 25-year-old defenseman could have been a restricted free agent Tuesday. He had 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 64 games this season and led the team in blocked shots (165) and its defensemen in hits (147). Romanov has 64 points (13 goals, 51 assists) in 221 games since he was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 7, 2022.
"We want to have competitors, guys that will play hard, will compete, and Romanov is exactly that type of player," Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said Tuesday. "And now that he's 25 years old ... it’s one thing to do term when the guy is 30 or 31. For a defenseman, their prime years are 24 to 32-33. That's the prime years of most players in the NHL, so right now, with that eight-year deal, we're getting all these prime years. The (NHL salary cap's) coming up, so I think he's happy securing, I would say, his future probably with this contract."
Selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 38) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Romanov has 83 points (17 goals, 66 assists) in 354 regular-season games and two points (one goal, one assist) in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"For us, we have cost certainty on a player for the next eight years as our team keeps improving and our younger guys that we drafted this weekend start coming in," Darche said. "He's a veteran guy that plays hard, he hits, so he's an important part of our team. We're excited to have him have that cost certainty for the next eight years."
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo signed a one-year contract with New York on Tuesday. On Friday, the Islanders traded defenseman Noah Dobson to the Canadiens for the Nos. 16 (forward Victor Eklund) and 17 (defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson) picks in the 2025 NHL Draft and forward Emil Heineman. They also selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick.
Goalie David Rittich signed a one-year contract with the Islanders on Tuesday.
NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
