The real reason for the Alexander Romanov trade has been revealed

When Gary Bettman announced the deal that sent Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre last July during the NHL draft, Canadiens fans who were there were stunned by the announcement.

When chatting with some of the experts at this time last year, three Habs players were considered untouchables: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Romanov.

That being said, if a player who was said to be untouchable was traded, we can quickly conclude that no one in the organization is untouchable.

On the other hand, as reported by Vincent Fournier of LetsGoHabs.com, Kent Hughes' decision to trade his defenseman was nothing personal towards the young man.


During his mid-season press conference on Wednesday, the Habs GM briefly went over his decision to send Romanov to New York.


He mentioned that the left side of the Habs' defense had great depth at that time and that sometimes in life, you have to sacrifice important elements in a team to bring in others. That's what happened with Alexander Romanov.

Remember that the Canadiens sent him to the Islanders with a fourth-round pick in 2022 in return for the team's first-round pick. Afterwards, Hughes used that pick to acquire Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks.

While the Habs' new forward is having quite a season, the former Glorious defensemen is not outdone, as he is one of the Islanders' four most used defensemen this year, averaging over 20 minutes of playing time per game.

However, when this trade is analyzed in a few years, it's a safe bet that this will probably be one of the better moves on Kent Hughes' part.

Romanov was simply traded because the Habs' left side of the defense had good depth at the time, according to Kent Hughes, and the last few months have proven the Habs' GM right.

A guy like Arber Xhekaj has taken on more responsibility and is shining.

It must also be said that Kirby Dach is becoming quite a player!

What a great deal in the end for both clubs.