Blues sign goaltender Georgi Romanov to one-year contract

A young netminder has earned himself a new contract.

On Wednesday, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced that the team has signed goaltender Georgi Romanov to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season.

Romanov had been invited to the New Jersey Devils‘ training camp on a professional tryout. He played in two preseason games, giving up just two goals on 43 shots. He played the entirety of the Devils’ matchup with the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 28, making 30 saves on 31 shots, though New Jersey lost 2-0.

The 25-year-old was an unrestricted free agent after he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the San Jose Sharks this past after coming to the end of his two-year, entry-level contract. He played a few games for the Sharks over his first two years in North America, appearing in two contests during the 2023-24 season, before playing in eight games last year. In the 2024-25 campaign, on a hapless San Jose team, Romanov went 0-6-0 with a 3.89 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage.

The Russian backstop spent most of his two seasons with the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. This past year, he posted a record of 11-6-5 in 21 games, with a 3.10 GAA and a .905 SV%. In 50 AHL contests, Romanov is 20-15-13 with a 3.12 GAA and a .904 SV%. He also played seven games with the Wichita Thunder during the 2023-24 season.

Romanov now joins a Blues organization that has its NHL tandem set between Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Their primary affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, already has Vadim Zherenko and Will Cranley signed through the 2025-26 season as well.