Newly signed Alexander Romanov ineligible for Canadiens' play-in series vs. Penguins

The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenceman Alexander Romanov to a three-year entry-level contract.

Romanov will earn $832,500 US at the NHL level in each season, with signing and performance bonuses starting in the 2020-21 season. The average annual value of the contract is $1.17 million US. He is set to make $70,000 per season at the American Hockey League level.

Romanov will be eligible to join his new team at training camp for Phase 3 of the NHL's return-to-play plan. He will have to undergo a quarantine of seven days before taking part in the camp.

He will also be allowed to travel with the Canadiens to Toronto to practice with his teammates during Phase 4, but will not be eligible to play in Montreal's qualifying-round series against Pittsburgh.

The 20-year-old Romanov amassed seven assists and a plus-21 differential in 43 games this season with CSKA Moscow in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League. The Moscow native played 86 career games with CSKA since making his KHL debut in 2018-19. He helped his team win the Gagarin Cup in 2018-19.

Romanov represented Russia at the world junior hockey championship in 2019 (bronze medal) and 2020 (silver medal), and was named to the tournament all-star team on both occasions. He was named the best defenceman of the 2019 tournament after leading all players in assists (seven) and differential (plus-12), and leading all blue-liners with eight points.