Islanders’ Alexander Romanov Garnering Trade Interest

The New York Islanders will have more trade offers to weigh in the week leading up to July 1st. Defenseman Alexander Romanov has been the latest to garner trade calls from across the league per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. Romanov’s contract does not carry any trade protection until July 1st, 2027 when a full no-trade clause will go into effect. In the summer leading up to that restriction, multiple teams are believed to be testing the waters on the veteran defender.

Rosner mentions that the term on Romanov’s contract may be alluring. The 26 year old is signed through the 2032-33 season at a very manageable $6.25MM cap hit – still the richest on the Islanders blue line. Romanov signed that contract in June 2025, after assuming a true, top-pair role in the 2024-25 campaign. While averaging a career-high 22 minutes of ice time each night, Romanov managed to reach 20 points in 64 games, a career-high scoring pace after back-to-back 22-point campaigns through more games played.

The Russian defender wasn’t able to celebrate the first year of his contract with more on-ice success, though. He sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery in November 2025. The injury – caused by a hit from Dallas Stars winger Mikko Rantanen – ultimately ended Romanov’s season less than two months into the year. His 2025-26 season closed with just one assist in 15 games played.

An early injury limited Romanov’s ability to grow into a premier, two-way role next to star rookie Matthew Schaefer. The Islanders could want to test his hand at that top-pair role next season, a thought that was backed up by general manager Mathieu Darche‘s post-draft comment that he does not expect major changes to the lineup this summer, per Rosner.

Then again, dangling a cost-controlled, two-way defenseman could prove lucrative in a seller’s market. There is no doubt other clubs are seeking to buy low on a defender coming off a lost year. New York is a team built for the future – on the back of a phenom in Schaefer and supported by a long list of exciting draft picks. The club is also weighing their options with captain and career-Islander Anders Lee, who is set to hit free agency on July 1st.

Should they part with Lee, New York could decide a scorched earth approach would be best to help their new talents blossom. With so many prospects already moving up the ranks, any Romanov deal would likely need to return promising players, rather than future draft capital. Should they keep Romanov in the fold, New York will move into the off-season with a slim $6.18MM in cap space and the bulk of their NHL roster under contract.