Thu, Jul 7, 2022 at 7:50pm

ROMANOV, DACH DEALT IN THREE-WAY DEAL

In a three-team trade, the New York Islanders acquired defenseman Alexander Romanov and a fourth-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 98 overall) from the Montreal Canadiens; Montreal acquired center Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks; Chicago acquired a first-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 13 overall) from the Islanders, and a third-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 66 overall) from the Canadiens.

What does it give the New York Islanders
This huge deal was announced as two separate trades during the first round of the NHL draft, with the host Montreal Canadiens involved in both of them. However, it is the Islanders who come away from this trade as the clear winners. Romanov is an emerging shutdown defender who should become a fixture on Long Island. New York also received a fourth-round pick in this year's draft and swapped out their first-round pick this year, which they had been shopping.

What does it give the Montreal Canadiens
After making the first pick of this year's draft by selecting winger Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal then made a big move to land the center they needed for the future in Dach, who is still young enough to emerge as a great two-way asset at the highest level. To get him, Montreal had to part ways with Romanov (who is also still young and promising), as well as two draft picks. They wound up leveraging the 13th overall pick in this year's draft in order to get the deal done.

What does it give the
For Chicago, this deal continues new GM Kyle Davidson's quest to strip down the roster and start over completely. The Blackhawks wound up selecting center Frank Nazar with the Islanders' original 13th overall selection. Nazar has a lot of promise as a two-way scoring forward but is a few years away from challenging for a roster spot in the Windy City. Chicago also received a third-round pick from the Canadiens in this transaction.

Fantasy impact
Romanov is more of a defensive defenseman, so his stock should not change much moving from Montreal to the Islanders. That said, his plus/minus stats could improve on Long Island and both his hits and blocked shots numbers are likely on the rise. Therefore, his peripheral fantasy value looks solid. As for Dach, he has a chance to become the fantasy impact player he was expected to be when selected third overall by Chicago in the 2019 NHL Draft. In Montreal, he is likely to slide in as the No. 2 center behind Nick Suzuki. Draft him in the early rounds of most keeper formats, and in the later rounds in yearly leagues.