Hughes and the Canadiens have good news regarding Alexander Romanov
Alex Romanov has just completed his second year in the NHL and he and his agent are already thinking about renegotiating his contract. The Russian defenceman will become a compensated independent player this summer and will have to hope that he has impressed the club's new staff enough to get a salary increase.
The fact is, according to Marco D'Amico of Montreal Hockey Now, Romanov just lost some negotiating leverage in the margin of his upcoming contract. The columnist tells us that a loophole in the NHL's collective bargaining agreement makes the defenceman ineligible to receive hostile offers from other clubs this summer.
Great news!
This is what d'Amico had to say on the subject:
A player who is 18 or 19 years of age earns one year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more NHL games in a given NHL season, and a player who is 20 years of age or older (or who turns 20 between September 16 and December 31 of the year in which he signs his first contract) earns one year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more professional games in a given league year."
This aspect of the NHL therefore takes some pressure off Kent Hughes who will be able to take his time in negotiating his defenseman's new contract without fear of a rival team trying to sign him in the process.
But don't think Hughes will overlook Romanov this summer, as the GM has openly mentioned on several occasions that he wants to develop the club's young defencemen. Romanov is now ready to take the next step in his development and will be a big help to the CH in the years to come.
Hughes will just have to make sure that Romanov's services, for next season at least, don't take up too much space on an already loaded payroll. With a good season ahead, however, the defenceman could see the money he put on the table this summer in a future contract.
