In the wake of the Noah Dobson sign-and-trade with the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/news/montreal-canadiens-get-noah-dobson-for-eight-years-in-sign-and-trade-with-islanders], the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders] are signing defenseman Alexander Romanov to an eight-year contract extension [https://www.nhl.com/news/alexander-romanov-signs-8-year-deal-with-new-york-islanders]. The extension will pay Romanov an average annual value of $6.25 million [https://puckpedia.com/player/alexander-romanov] and will run through the 2032-33 season. With the sign and trade of the Islanders' former No. 1 defenseman, Dobson, to the Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on Friday, the 25-year-old Romanov is now the team's highest-paid defenseman, just ahead of 30-year-old Ryan Pulock, who makes $6.15-million per season. The deal is also a sizeable increase on the Russian's previous deal, which paid him $2.5-million per season. Does the addition of Dobson make the Canadiens a contender in the Atlantic? Last season, Romanov put up 16 assists and 20 points in 64 games with the Islanders, and while those numbers are on par with his other two seasons with New York, it is worth noting that Romanov was plagued with injuries during the first half of the 2024-25 season. The young D-man has played in 354 career NHL games with the Islanders and Canadiens, and in that span, Romanov has 17 goals and 66 assists for 83 points. He’s added two points (one goal, one assist) in 13 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. Romanov was initially drafted by Montreal in the second round with the 38th-overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft. He spent two seasons with the Canadiens before being traded to the Islanders during the 2022 off-season for a first-round pick. Alexander Romanov (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/932be1ab-46b1-431f-800c-efa35837da24.jpeg] Alexander Romanov (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) In his most recent season, Romanov averaged the most playing time of his career thus far, averaging 22:18 of ice time. And with the exit of Dobson, his role may increase even more as he starts his new deal this coming season. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
