Edited Sep. 17, 2020 at 1:16 a.m.
Lots of negativity on here with regards to the trade/contract lol I'm just trying to trying to make sense of it and actually look at both pros and cons. So here it goes:
Bergevin basically just gave him the same deal he gave Chiarot. The extra year is just Chiarot was 28 when he signed for 3, Edmundson is 27 signed for 4. Both will finish their contract at age 31. Either way I think it's 1 or 2 years too many (con), but the AAV actually seems market value (looking at Scandella contract), so I'm surprised MTL didn't "overpay" in terms of AAV like they normally have to (pro), which explains they extra term. Not trying to compare the two, but Bergevin is obviously trying to emulate the same success he had with Chiarot with Edmundson. No guarantee it'll happen, but I won't be quick to judge.
One interesting aspect that those hating on this trade/contract seem to want to ignore (or maybe they just didn't do their homework) is that Edmundson has performed extremely well in the playoffs his entire career (53 career playoff games). I see all the analytical struggles during the season that everyone seems to love pointing out, which is obviously a concern (con), but it goes almost the opposite direction come playoff time (pro). Even this past playoffs, with only 4 games (missed games to injury or being "unfit to play"), Edmundson analytically performed better than most of his Dmen teammates and played over 23minutes a game...
Also, for those mentioning CAR were going to let him walk anyway, 100% they would of kept him over Gardiner if they weren't stuck with his contract.
Anyways, if Bergevin / Julien plan on consistently playing him in a top 4 role, this is a risky move. Too risky imo. But my bet is that they are hoping Romanov meets their expectations and they can slot Edmundson on their 3rd pairing, which is a definite upgrade over the abysmal guys Habs had during the past playoffs (Mete-Ouellet.....ugh). My verdict is that it's not a good move, but not a bad one either, and there's potential for it to go either way. I guess we'll see.