The St. Louis Blues have extended depth goaltender Georgi Romanov, General Manager and President of Hockey Ops Doug Armstrong said today. The deal carries a term of two years, and is a two-way contract.
Romanov hasn't suited up in the NHL for the Blues, but he has ten games of NHL experience, all with the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year old netminder has a career .888 save percentage (SV%) and 3.53 Goals Against Average (GAA), with zero wins in the ten games he's played.
It's likely that Romanov will stick with the Blues' AHL affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds for the next two seasons, serving as an emergency call up should the Blues' two primary goaltenders (at the moment, Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer), suffer an injury or be traded elsewhere. The Thunderbirds need goalies, too, as the only one under contract for next season is Will Cranley.
Romanov had an underwhelming regular season with the Thunderbirds, sporting a losing 9-12-4 record, and an .896 SV% and 3.29 GAA. He did, however, catch fire in the playoffs, going 7-4-0 and posting a .939 SV% and 1.84 GAA on the Thunderbirds' run to the Atlantic Division Final. When the games mattered most, he was nigh unbeatable--those playoff performances likely inspired the Blues to sign him to an extension.
The Blues only have one other goaltending prospect who hasn't played in North America yet and, at just 19 years old, Love Harenstam is probably still a couple years away from playing in a Thunderbirds uniform. Romanov gives the Blues (and the Thunderbirds) insurance in case of emergency.
