During the last NHL draft session at the Bell Center in Montreal, the Canadiens surprised many by announcing not one but two major transactions during the first round.
One of those two deals was with the New York Islanders as CH sent the defender Alexander Romanov plus a 4th round pick (98e total) for a 1st round pick (13e total).
During an interview on the airwaves of TSN, Shane Kellyanalytical director of SMTa company specializing in advanced statistics, did not mince words when commenting on the transaction in question.
“I really liked this transaction for the Canadiens. With the season he had last year, to receive such a good choice for him was a fantastic return. To be honest, his first season in the NHL he played very well but last season it was completely the opposite. He was one of the worst regular defensemen in the entire NHL. I think the management of the team wondered who the real Alexander Romanov was and came to the conclusion that he was the one we saw last year. That’s why we decided to trade him even though he was so loved by the fans and his teammates.”
– Shane Kelly
Ouch! Basically, in his opinion, Kent Hughes pulled off a real robbery.
We will remember that this choice obtained in the Romanov transaction was used, in addition to a 3rd round choice (66th overall) to get our hands on the forward Kirby Roof des Blackhawks de Chicago.
Kelly believes the acquisition of Dach is a great one and says he has great potential to rebound and that his wrist surgery probably explains his recent failures. Conversely, he does not believe that Sean Monahan be able to overcome the last major operations he had to undergo and that he will ultimately only be passing through Montreal.
Hear the full interview below.
