The New York Rangers announced they have re-signed forward Ryan Strome. The deal is for two years and has an AAV of $4.5M. By signing the deal, the team and Strome avoid their salary arbitration hearing.
2x$4.5M for Strome
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 5, 2020
Ryan Strome Signed
Strome has had an eventful career path, to say the least. From getting drafted in 2011 by the New York Islanders, being traded straight-up for Jordan Eberle, then a return to New York in exchange for Ryan Spooner it’s been a circuitous route for the fifth overall pick. Last season was Strome’s most successful ever with 18 goals and 59 points. While his Corsi didn’t break 50%, only four Rangers’ did so it’s not fatal on an improving team. He made a lot of his money on the power play, getting 17 points on a top-10 unit. It’s reasonably safe to say that will continue to see time on the power play, especially going into a shortened season. Coaches aren’t likely to experiment much in 2020-21, running a Why-Break-It-If-It-Works philosophy. Strome should have at least similar numbers next season. Then again, with his history of streaky scoring and whipsaw shooting percentages a cold start could push him down the lineup quickly.
What This Means
His production has been as wildly variable as his home team. This last season was his first where he played anything like a top-six role, and he did well. His 59 points in 70 games is a solid level of production, but will it be sustainable? Lining up with Artemi Panarin and Jesper Fast for over 50 games undoubtedly helped, but Fast is gone now. If he remains Panarin’s centre of choice then his numbers will be fine. That seems most likely, as it’s not always easy to find a good match for your stars. If not, then it’s much harder to predict. Perhaps Strome, Chris Kreider, and Kaapo Kakko can form an effective scoring line. The potential for a repeat of 60-ish points is certainly there in any case.
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