The NHL trade deadline is this month and there is little doubt that Jim Rutherford is going to want to improve his team in an effort to secure the Penguins sixth Stanley Cup. The third line center position has been an elusive piece due to the lack of a market for that kind of player. The reality of the situation is that there are no perfect candidates. Each player is going to have their own set of flaws. There have been a lot of names thrown around this year and some have been better than others. Today I’m going to discuss a name that is perceived to be underperforming, but I think could still be of use to the Penguins. That player is Ryan Strome.
Something I think that needs to be done when discussing Ryan Strome is that just because the Oilers were expecting a lot more and he hasn’t delivered doesn’t mean he can’t help a team in a third line role. In Edmonton it is impossible to separate the fact that the Oilers traded away Jordan Eberle for Strome. It was just the latest blunder by Peter Chiarelli. Due to the Oilers cap issues moving forward they may not be keen on ponying up the 3M offer that Strome will command on his next RFA contract this offseason.
From Jonathan Willis of The Athletic
It looks to me like the #Oilers best bet with Ryan Strome is to move him at the trade deadline: https://t.co/boPbgvWK7f
— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) February 1, 2018
Against that backdrop, does it make sense for Edmonton to re-sign Strome at a $3 million cap hit next year? It’s not a ridiculous figure for a third-line centre, but as things stand now the Oilers will likely have less than $7 million to play with in the summer after re-signing Nurse and that number could fall below $5 million if they want to leave room for Puljujarvi to potentially hit his bonuses. Strome is not an inspired place to invest most of that cap room.
I like the risk reward intrigue of Ryan Strome. His cap hit value now and in the future would be something that the Penguins could make fit. Cost to acquire shouldn’t break the bank due to the perception/reality of him underachieving this year. I think the Penguins have a situation that is conducive to helping him.
Strome’s best year was his rookie campaign in 2014-15. He played 81 games and was great offensively
He hasn’t been anywhere close to that since, but he’s at a third line level this year and that’s the role he would have in Pittsburgh. To put that production into perspective only Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Bryan Rust, Daniel Sprong, and Dominik Simon are doing better this season on the Penguins than Strome in Edmonton.
Possession wise he should do just fine. Outside of the 2016-17 season he’s always been above 50%
For context here are his relative numbers
All in all I like the cap hit, I like the potential of the player’s fit in Pittsburgh, and I really like the idea of making trades with Edmonton.
Thanks for reading!