Another matter the Canadiens are eagerly awaiting news on is the status of Alexander Romanov. If they can invite 28 skaters to training camp, which appears to be the case, they are still holding out hope that one of those spots will go to Romanov
The NHL’s stance on whether Romanov and other players like him, most notably Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, can play this season remains unchanged; the league would rather not allow it. But this being a collectively bargained rule that allowed similar players like Cale Makar to play in the past, the NHLPA gets to have its say on the matter. It is unclear where those talks stand or how big of a priority it is right now, but with CBA extension talks ongoing, it is hard to imagine this topic is not one being discussed (and, frankly, the NHL’s sudden change of heart on this issue could just be posturing for negotiating leverage).
Romanov’s agent Dan Milstein said his client is eagerly waiting to see if he will be able to play, but preparation is already underway for him to come to Montreal at a moment’s notice.
“He’s ready to move,” Milstein said Friday. “He’s been working out, he’s ready.”
The problem right now is less so Romanov’s eligibility status and more so his immigration status. Milstein said work on Romanov’s immigration papers and work visa is already underway, but they have hit a snag in that those papers require medical and biometrics reports, which they are having trouble getting under the current pandemic-related restrictions in Russia.
Milstein is hopeful that the immigration work can be cleared up next week and that Romanov’s playing status can come into clearer focus by the first week of July.
If that were to happen and Romanov would be deemed eligible to play, and if Kotkaniemi performs well enough in camp to crack the lineup, the Canadiens would suddenly have two big parts of their future unexpectedly playing for them in the present. That alone would make the play-in round extremely compelling television for their fans regardless of whether they win or lose the actual games.