Flyers Reportedly Kicking Tires on Islanders’ Alexander Romanov

With the offseason have officially begun after the Florida Panthers skated off with their second straight Stanley Cup, the Philadelphia Flyers can now be more aggressive on the trade front with the draft just a little over a week away.

General manager Daniel Brière has been working on getting deals done for a couple of his RFAs in Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster, however Jakob Pelletier and Cam York still remain with the latter generating a lot more questions than the former.

After a fantastic finish to the 2023-24 season, one that saw York nearly averaging 25 minutes a game and obtain a low plus-minus on a team giving up 5-6 goals a game, he took an obvious step back in 2024-25. Eventually we found out that he had an ongoing feud with John Tortorella but even with a new coach at the helm this season, there are questions about whether or not he’s a fit for the future.

Anthony Di Marco has intimated that York’s camp is looking for a long-term deal, whereas the Flyers could be more interested in a bridge deal. Not to say the Flyers wouldn’t be enticed by a long term deal but it would have to make sense financially and that’s where the questions continue to arise.

York is assuredly a key cog on the back-end but if the Flyers want to make changes anywhere in their lineup, he might become expandable. However, Brière has mentioned that he’s not for sale and what that essentially means is you’re going to have to blow the door down with an offer.

While they try to work with York on a new contract, the Flyers have been dillydallying a little bit and had been linked to Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights before that was shot down as more of a media-pushed agenda than anything else. However, one name we can add to the mix is Alexander Romanov from the New York Islanders, according to Stefen Rosner.

The upcoming RFA defenseman has reportedly drawn interest from both the Flyers and the Boston Bruins with contract negations having stalled with the Islanders. They carry slightly over $20 million in cap space but also have bigger fish to fry in Noah Dobson while also holding onto the first overall pick in the draft, which should be used on defenseman Matthew Schaefer.

Once seen as a future building block of the Montréal Canadiens back-end, Romanov was moved in a three team trade on draft day in 2022, which netted Chicago the 13th overall pick while Montréal received centre Kirby Dach.

Romanov would bring a level of physicality that the Flyers have yet to see for a while. The Moscow native stands in at 6’1” and 220 pounds with 867 hits and 669 blocked shots across 354 games in 5 seasons split between Montréal and New York. The 25-year-old isn’t known for his offense with just 17 goals and 83 points to his name, but he’s more known for his defensive abilities and hard hitting ways.

This past season he scored 4 goals and 20 points in 64 games, held a +5, averaged 22:30 TOI, and delivered 147 hits and 165 blocked shots. Across his 3-year tenure with the Islanders he’s accumulated 64 points in 221 games, holds a +43, has averaged 20:47 TOI, and has 502 hits and 465 blocked shots.

Romanov would fit seamlessly within the top-4 of the Flyers defense as they currently carry a few question marks, especially with Rasmus Ristolainen expected to miss the beginning of the 2025-26 season. There are concerns about Egor Zamula and Emil Andrae and outside of Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler there’s something missing.

An interesting thing to follow heading into the draft is what the Islanders do with their first overall pick. They have serious interest in James Hagens but it would be a stretch to select him with the first overall pick. The Bruins being involved makes things a little stickier for the Flyers because Boston is looking for an immediate impact but could also look to move ahead of them in the draft.

Boston’s has serious interest in Romanov, Dobson, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, all the while holding the 7th overall pick. When you factor in recent mock drafts and rankings from draft gurus, Hagens has dropped to that range – and in some he’s closer to 10th than he is 5th.

There might be a world where the Flyers keep York and get Romanov but that seems unlikely and would cause a bit of a logjam in the years to come when some of their prospects are ready. The Islanders are also looking at ways of getting Hagens if he does fall beyond 4th-5th in the draft but the Flyers won’t be moving that pick unless they receive a premium haul – and Romanov wouldn’t suffice.

Whether it’s a one-for-one deal involving two RFA defensemen, or the Islanders are looking at ways of adding more picks to the fray, or maybe the Flyers looking to bolster their defense rather than subtract, there’s a lot in play and it’s certainly a situation to monitor.

Romanov fits the Flyers’ mold. His physical game is something they’re looking to add and address, and being Russian is probably the cherry on top of the cake. The 25-year-old would be a nice addition but with the Islanders playing both sides, it’s hard to tell what a realistic deal could look like.