The NHL trade rumors have been strong with the Philadelphia Flyers this summer, but New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov has taken an opportunity to clear the air.
Previously, it was reported that the Flyers, along with the Boston Bruins, were interested in trading for Romanov, still an RFA at the time.
Instead, the 25-year-old Russian signed an eight-year, $50 million contract ($6.25 million AAV), tying him down in Long Island in 2033, when he'll be 33 years old.
“I was shocked when I heard [the trade rumors]. I immediately texted [agent] Dan Milstein and asked, ‘What is this?’ He told me it wasn’t true,” Romanov told RG's Sergey Demidov in a recent interview. “Both Boston and Philly are already set on the left side of their defense. From what I understand, they weren’t even interested.”
And, Romanov is right in his assessment of the Flyers, given the team's steadfast commitment to reaching an agreement with RFA defenseman Cam York.
Even with Travis Sanheim already playing on the right side, the Flyers still have York, Nick Seeler, Egor Zamula, and Emil Andrae occupying the left.
Plus, when accounting for the contract Romanov just signed and the additions of Dan Vladar and Christian Dvorak in the opening hours of NHL free agency, the Flyers would be roughly $700k over the salary cap had they acquired Romanov and re-signed him.
Romanov would have been a fun add to the Flyers given his pugilistic playstyle, but, logistically, things got hairy for the Flyers rather quickly.
Plus, it takes two to tango, and the Flyers were apparently never interested to begin with.
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