A fairly thin free agent center market is about to get a notable addition as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Blackhawks will not be tendering Dylan Strome a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline. That means he will become an unrestricted free agent on Monday.
The move shouldn’t come as much surprise as Chicago has had the 25-year-old available for quite some time now with no takers. That’s more due to his cost than his performance, however. Strome’s qualifying offer of $3.6MM was more than what the Blackhawks were willing to pay and even if they were willing to go that high, the fact he had salary arbitration eligibility would almost certainly have pushed the price tag even higher which other teams around the league were certainly aware of.
Strome is coming off a bit of an up-and-down season. He got off to a tough start but over the final two months of the season, he averaged nearly a point per game in 28 contests while logging more than 20 minutes a night on the top line. Overall, he had 22 goals and 26 assists in 69 games, setting a new career-high in goals in the process.
For the criticism he has received over the past few years, the 2015 third-overall pick had a decent run overall in parts of four seasons with the Blackhawks, recording 60 goals and 94 assists in 225 games. While that type of production doesn’t quite live up to the draft billing, that’s still a solid performance for a secondary scorer. Between that and the fact it’s a thin center market, Strome should be able to generate considerable interest when the market opens up on Wednesday.
In the meantime, this will be the second center selected third overall to leave Chicago in less than a week after the Blackhawks moved Kirby Dach to Montreal back at the draft. GM Kyle Davidson is embarking on a full-scale rebuild and in a short stretch, the team is parting with a pair of young players that were viewed as potential long-term cogs just a couple of years ago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
He has 2 RFA years left, so a 1 yr show me contract would give that team 1 more yr of control. Not all that risky. A 1 yr contract of 3.5M or a little less might work out to that team’s advantage. Detroit, Seattle, Minny, or even the Canes might have interest.
Uh, he is a UFA.
Free Patrick Kane
Kane made his bed years ago. How can you stay competitive while taking 10mil a year
Kane is the NHL’s Mike Trout
How do you figure?? When Mike Trout wins three cups then you can make a comparison
Or in his case, World Series
Trout signed with a team that was unlikely to win anything. Kane signed a contract at a point where it was probably likely that the Hawks wouldn’t be contenders by the end of their contracts. They chose to stick around with their teams, and thus, saying either should be freed is stupid. Kane’s situation is different, but 2022 Kane is in a similar situation with his team’s ability to succeed as Trout is in 2022.
Patrick Kane has been a great player for a long time. Unlike Mike Trout however Kane has never been the best player on the planet, which Trout has been for about a decade. If you want a Mike Trout comparable you should look to 97 in Edmonton.
That is exactly the right comparasion. They even have his Ohtani with Draisatl. Watching Edmonton gives me that same level of frustration as watching the Angels.
Definitely the best comparison. Thought to be fair to 97, he makes the playoffs every year and just had a very good run, whereas the Angels have been once in the entire history or Trout.
With 3 Stanley Cups.?
He would look good on the Rangers centering Panarin.
one strome isn’t enough
I’m honestly shocked no one wanted to give up anything for him.
I’m sure plenty of teams like him but 3.6 going to ARB is likely a 4 floor so that why. I bet he goes to the Leafs for 1.5 or 2 as an I believe he’s a Toronto area boy, I would like for my Habs to take a flyer but I’m sure he goes in the 1.5-2 range to a contender. I know he is a center but can he score goals? Mcdave needs a good winger
I was thinking Leafs too. Bump Kämpf down to 4C and Strome centers Nylander and Engvall on the 3rd line. A lot more offensive punch in the bottom 6.
I think the GMs are doing something the media so far has not: actually tallying up all the players who are touted for Significant Salary Increases versus the grand total cap space teams have available to sign them. Without going over every free agent in the league, I wager that there are many more dollars on the first side of the ledger than there are on the second. Teams that wait deep into August are going to be able to pick up some bargains.
The names Kampf, Strome and Nylander don’t bring pleasant memories to Hawks fans in recent years…
Losing good players for nothing is the new market inefficiency.
Guessing that Davidson didn’t ignore offers for them just to release them out of spite. No one wants them at their RFA prices.
The Hawk I’m surprised isn’t getting any attention is Kevin Lankinen. Not ideal, but if the Leafs are even thinking about Matt Murray, why not try Lankinen instead? He was non-awful far more recently than Murray.
They’re probably doing the asinine “Oh, Murray has won Cups” dance in their heads.
Anyone wanting to pick up Strome, be aware that he is a defensive liability and does not play with speed. His best role is playing a 1st or 2nd line scoring/playmaking role with other skilled forwards but if he’s your 1st or 2nd best Center you’re probably in trouble.
All n all I wish the kid nothing but luck moving forward. He didn’t get a fair shake with Colliton which changed his trajectory as a player. Not that it would have changed his deficiencies as a player, but he would have been an asset to keep and build with on a poor team (as the Hawks will undoubtedly be) or at least get something for in return.
If Ottawa was smart they’d call his agent and lock him into a deal to help Cat jump ship and maybe sign an extension.
The Hawks literally have nothing else at this point, why not try to salvage what little forward talent they have left not named Kane and see if he can make himself worth something. They are willing to take on bad money for Mrazek to move up 14 spots but not to sign Strome, who with a decent scoring season could net you a 3rd rd pick.
The Hawks knew if Keith retired they’d lose 5.5 million in cap space so that’s why they traded DeBrincat. So what makes anybody think a cap stressed team would offer an inconsistent player 3.6 million with the possibility of it going even HIGHER in arbitration? If teams weren’t willing to TRADE for him because of the price tag, NOBODY is going to offer him a contract in Free Agency. The Hawks actually made the smart play here and Davidson is looking very competent so far in the deals he made. Obviously the final results won’t be in until we see if the Korchinski, Nazar Rinzel picks do, But Dach was looking like a bust and to get the 13 pick AND the first pick in the 3rd round for him was impressive. With the cap being stagnant for years and Debrincats value about to skyrocket the haul was probably the best he could get but it’s going to hurt watching him play for somebody else as much as watching Panarin play for the Rangers. Bowman crippled the cap for years with his 10.5 million twin deals for Kane and Toews. He drew to an inside straight that the cap would explode with a new TV deal and as usually happens, Lost. Then doubled down by giving Seabrook the stupidest deal ever.