So I think that both sides aren’t really arguing in good faith right now.
Romanov is 100% Montreal’s equivalent of Seider in terms of trade availability. I wouldn’t trade Seider for Mantha straight up, and I wouldn’t expect Montreal to drift away from that logic with Romanov. The value of a young defenseman goes up drastically when it starts to become realized potential at the NHL because you start to buy less what-if and more what-is. Montreal’s pipeline is solid, but takes a significant step back if you remove Romanov.
Their cup window was really not all that real to begin with, and likely will require a retool with some of the elder players set to retire or enter a real decline. As a Wings fan, I can speak from experience that getting loose with the pipeline at this stage will destroy any foundation Montreal may have maintained.
So that’s kind of where I stand with the discussion of is/should Romanov be available via trade.
Now pause. We circle back to Seider, and let’s make sure we get this one thing crystal clear before we wrap this thread up. In no way shape or form is Romanov on the same level as Seider. Given the option to choose their preference to build around, Yzerman, Bergevin, any other NHL GM, prospect writers, analysts, coaches, and fan bases would all choose to build around Moritz Seider. The only place you will find someone who argues the contrary is anywhere a Habs fan wants to get high off their own supply. And that is not to say that Romanov is a bad player...that’s why I laid out the first half of this post. Trying to make an argument that Seider is not on a different level is not an argument that I think can be made with any honest intent.