We now know what Alexander Romanov's next contract should be like

Since Martin St-Louis took over the helm of the Habs, Alexander Romanov has become one of the pillars of the defense and is probably playing his best hockey since his arrival in Montreal.

The 22 year old defenseman has had several assists this year and will become a free agent at the end of the season. Kent Hughes will have to sign him to a new contract.

As reported by my colleague Christian Matte of Marqueur.com, The Athletic reporter Marc-Antoine Godin published an article in which he compared Romanov to some NHL defensemen who have put up similar stats and signed new contracts in recent years.

His colleague, Arpon Basu, also did the same to give an idea of what kind of contract the Habs' young defenseman could sign over the summer.


After the analysis of the two journalists, they conclude that the contract that Kent Hughes could eventually give to Romanov could be close to the one obtained by defenseman Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes.

The latter had initialed a six-year deal on August 1, 2017, valued at $4.025 million per year. The contract began the following year, in 2018-2019.

Pesce had signed his contract at 22 years old, the same age as Romanov, and he had a very similar season to the Canadiens' defenseman, when he had 20 points in 82 games with Carolina.

The CH has two options: either they will sign Romanov to a two or three season transition contract worth 2-3 million per season, or they could opt for a long-term contract similar to Brett Pesce's.

OPTION 1: 2-3 year contract/value of 2-3 million per season.

OPTION 2: 6+ year contract / value of more than 4 million per season.

Could the new management of the team not sign Romanov to a transition contract, as was the case with P.K. Subban a few years ago?

It is possible, because we must not forget that Cole Caufield must also sign a new agreement with the Canadiens. It could be profitable in the long run.

Which option would you choose, instead of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton?