Report: Romanov Extension Close; What Will it Look Like?

The New York Islanders’ summer rolls on. The next 48–72 hours could get real intense, real fast. While some things are not so imminent, others are.

According to multiple reports, an Alexander Romanov extension is on the horizon. Don’t just take my word for it. Islanders’ GM Mathieu Darche told the NY Post last night, “We have some clarity on one of the big pieces and hopefully get some clarity on a couple of others soon.”

Combine that with Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts: The Podcast about an extension being imminent, and it’s very clear the road New York’s on.

That leaves one burning question: What will the extension look like? Luckily, the Calgary Flames and Kevin Bahl signed a perfect contract comparable yesterday.

Bahl’s Contract:

Bahl’s new deal spans six years, with an average annual value of $5.35 million. Bahl, 25, scored three goals and had 20 points while averaging a career-high 21:23 of ice time in 73 games last season.  Over his 221 career games, this was the first year Bahl played over 20 minutes a night.

The contract also includes an eight-team no-trade clause for the final four years of the deal. The 6’6 left-shot defenseman had a very strong season, and this is his reward.

Comparing Bahl to Romanov:

Romanov’s numbers are eerily similar to Bahl’s. He scored four goals and 20 points over 64 games, while playing 22:18 per night. Romanov’s overall on-ice success varied at times, but it’d be hard to argue he stepped up when he needed to.

Romanov and his agent, Dan Millstein, can immediately look at Bahl’s contract and easily command more than Bahl on a long-term deal. In a new-cap world, the Bahl contract just set the benchmark.

Both players are 25. Both scored 20 points while averaging over 20 minutes per game. It’s not hard to see exactly where the lines get drawn, nor is it any coincidence that a new contract is this close after the Bahl contract dropped.

Romanov Contract Projection:

Romanov made one thing very clear at his end-of-season availability: he wants to be an Islander, and he wants to be an Islander for a very long time.

Based on Bahl’s contract, a compromise between the Islanders and Romanov at a six-year deal worth $36 million seems about right. That’d be a $6 million annual cap hit. It buys up his final two RFA years (this year and next), before taking away four more UFA seasons.

If Romanov wants to go seven or even eight years, it would not shock me to see the contract reach a maximum AAV of $6.5-$7 million. There’s also a chance he could leave it at around that $6 million, but that’d be a clear discount for an eight-year term.

From all indications, it seems the announcement for the pending extension could come as soon as today. Having this big deal out of the way paves the way for the next steps to proceed.