With the KHL season officially being cancelled Wednesday, players with expiring KHL contracts are free to sign with NHL teams as of May 1.

However, as TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports, the NHL has instructed teams that they can only sign players to deals that begin next season while this year's campaign remains suspended. Whether or not that changes if the NHL resumes play is unclear.

Agent Dan Milstein, who represents Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Romanov, among others, told LeBrun Wednesday that Romanov is currently weighing his options for the future.

"Over the next couple of weeks we will discuss different options," Milstein said. "I would expect he would make a decision based on this year's NHL season. It's possible, depending on what happens, that if Montreal wants him he could probably sign and come this year instead of waiting for next season. Because he would be free to sign after May 1."

Milstein added, however, that re-signing with CSKA Moscow remains a possibility as well.

Romanov, a second-round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2018, posted seven assists in 43 games with CSKA Moscow this season. The 20-year-old was without a point in the team's four-game first-round playoff series.

A native of Moscow, Romanov had one goal and six points in seven games with Team Russia at the World Juniors earlier this year. In 2019, he posted one goal and eight points in seven games at the tournament.