Romanov finalizes contract with Canadiens, ineligible for Qualifiers

Alexander Romanov and the Montreal Canadiens finalized terms on a three-year, entry-level contract Monday. It has an average annual value of $1.17 million.

The 20-year-old defenseman, who agreed to terms with Montreal on May 8, will be eligible to join the Canadiens at training camp for Phase 3 of the NHL Return to Play Plan after going through a quarantine of seven days. Romanov will be allowed to travel with the Canadiens to the hub city of Toronto to practice with teammates during Phase 4 but will not be eligible to play in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

"He wanted to be here, he was willing to come and we welcome him with open arms," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said. "Hopefully he'll be here shortly with the quarantine and the paperwork. But I think in the long run, it's going to help him tremendously.

"As a former player, you go into your first NHL training camp and [when] you come back the next year, it's night and day. You've already been there, you've been around the players, you've been around the staff. It's something there's no [way to place a] value on that. That we're able to do that, we didn't hesitate."

The Canadiens (31-31-9, .500 points percentage) are the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference. They will play the No. 5 seed, the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-23-6, .623), in one of eight best-of-5 qualifier series, beginning Aug. 1. The winner will advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the loser will have a 12.5 percent chance, equal to the other seven teams eliminated in the Qualifiers, at the No. 1 pick in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held on Aug. 10. The 2020 NHL Draft is scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10.

Selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 38) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Romanov had seven assists and was plus-21 in 43 games for CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League this season. He also helped Russia finish second in the 2020 World Junior Championship and third in the 2019 tournament, when he led all players with seven assists and was named best defenseman.

With the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, there was uncertainty about prospects like Romanov being able to play this season after agreeing to their entry-level contract. That was cleared up as part of the four-year extension to the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement and Return to Play Plan, which were ratified July 10. Romanov's first year will count against his entry-level contract but he is ineligible to play this season.

"I think it will be like any young player that comes in here -- we've got to integrate him into our team and welcome him in as quick as we can," Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber said. "I don't think it's going to be an exceptional or a different or unique circumstance. We'll welcome him in and work with him as much as we can. At the same time, he's obviously a very capable player, a good player and the team has confidence in him. You want to just make sure he feels comfortable here and I think he'll slide right in."