Two years on, the facts have changed, but the draft floor trade that brought Alexander Romanov and a fourth-round pick to the Islanders in exchange for the team's 2022 first-rounder only appears to have been a success. In what appears to be perhaps one of the single best moves, Lou Lamoriello became general manager.
Remember, this wasn't a sure thing back then.
Romanov played as a top-four defenseman in Montreal, but missed most of the Canadiens' playoff run a year earlier. Does he have enough offensive power and can he really handle top pair time? His game has the occasional big hit but nothing else that stands out, all bark and no bite. There were doubts as to whether the situation had ended in the same way.
The Islanders had given up a first-round pick for the third straight season. He later signed Bo Horvat and won four straight games. It could also be argued that Kirby Dutch, whom the Canadiens had acquired at the time from Chicago in exchange for a first-round pick, was a better prospect than Romanov.
