New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has plenty of decisions to make regarding his roster.
Although the focus will be on his current pending unrestricted and restricted free agents, defenseman Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov are eligible to sign extensions as of July 1.
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Dobson has one year remaining at $4 million, while Romanov has one year left at $2.5 million.
Both are RFAs and arbitration eligible when their contracts expire.
Although the ball is certainly in the Islanders' courts, both players will be receiving pay raises.
The question is just how long of a contract and how high of an annual value will each player get?
Tuesday may have brought some answers, especially regarding Dobson, after the Vancouver Canucks inked 26-year-old defenseman Filip Hronek to an eight-year, $58 million extension, worth $7.25 million annually:
Hronek took major strides for the Canucks this season in his second full season after Vancouver acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings ahead of the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline:
In 2023-24, Hronek tallied five goals and 43 assists for 48 points, the latter two being career highs, in 81 games. H
e played on a pairing with Norris Trophy finalist Quinn Hughes, which surely bolstered Hronek's production, averaging 23:26 minutes per night.
The Czechian defenseman played every game of the team's playoff run, adding one red light and one helper in 13 games.
Hronek wasn't a one-dimensional player for the Canucks, as he played on the second penalty-kill unit while also racking up 104 hits and 87 blocks.
Islanders' Dobson, who did not have a Norris-caliber blueliner by his side -- playing a majority of his minutes (713:12) alongside Romanov -- also set career highs in assist (60) and points (70) with 10 goals playing a career-hihg 24:31 per game.
Twenty-three of his assists came on the power play, as he quarterbacked the first unit for most of the season.
Despite being a tad too one-dimensional, Dobson voiced a desire to earn penalty-kill minutes and got some action there this season when Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech were out with injuries, even sliding to the left side, his off-side, to help the Islanders.
With Hronek making $7.25 million a year over seven, Dobson is expected to get eight years at $8 million annually, if not more.
He's two years younger than Hronek and didn't have the support Hronek had.
Not to mention, with the cap expected to rise exponentially going forward, Dobson could be asking for $10-plus million in a few years, so it makes complete sense why the Islanders would put pen to paper on an eight-year extension.
Romanov is a different story.
He is not the offensive machine that Dobson is proving to be, but he's been strong defensively.
Romanov had seven goals, a career high, with 15 assists for 22 points, in his age-24 season, adding a career-high 179 blocks with 157 hits.
In addition to taking a role on the penalty kill, Romanov played, on average, a career-high 20:50, a jump from his 19:27 minutes per game in 2022-23.
Romanov likely won't get eight years on his deal, as we could see him getting five years at $5 million annually.
Retaining young defensemen, especially long-term, is so important in today's NHL.
The Islanders have not had much success with their prospect pool, but Dobson has shined, and acquiring Romanov at the 2022 NHL Draft has proven to be a wise move.
Both are critical parts of the Islanders' future, and the organization and the players likely want the contracts settled so they don't become a distraction at any point during the 2024-25 season.
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