Canadiens trade Alexander Romanov to Islanders for No. 13 pick

It was part of a noisy first hour of the draft for the Canadiens. Not only did they draft Juraj Slafkovsky No. 1 overall, instead of what seemed to be the top choice in Shane Wright, they made this trade, along with another deal that sent this No. 13 pick and their No. 66 pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for Kirby Dach.

Romanov was a second round pick for the Habs in the 2018 NHL Draft, selected No. 38 overall. He spent the following two seasons in the KHL before making his NHL debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. In two season with the Canadiens, he has four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 133 games in the regular season. However, he was not under strong favor with at-the-time head coach Dominque Ducharme when the Canadiens went on their Cup Final run, as Romanov only played four games in the playoffs.

Defensively, Romanov had strong results in his rookie season with a 54.17% shot attempt share and 53.49% expected goal share at even strength, but saw those numbers drop to 45.59% and 46.01% respectively in the 2021-22 season. That said, he saw improvement after Ducharme’s firing and current head coach Martin St. Louis took over, as he had a 47.2% shot attempt share and 47.34% expected goal share under St. Louis. Those numbers could see improvement under a well-structured Islanders team, but that will depend on if that carries over under new head coach Lane Lambert after Barry Trotz’s firing after the Isles missed the playoffs this year.

As mentioned before, the Canadiens did acquire the No. 13 overall pick in the 2022 Draft, but it won’t be of any relevance to the Habs, as they immediately dealt it for Kirby Dach. The No. 98 pick that goes to the Islanders along with Romanov will be the first selection in the fourth round.