Chicago Blackhawks: Dylan Strome Might Be On His Way Out

The Chicago Blackhawks added another forward yesterday when they signed Lucas Wallmark to a one year contract. Now Stan Bowman is going to have to figure out what to do with Dylan Strome.

Dylan Strome might not have had the best season last year, but he still does have a pretty bright future, and he fits with this team. The Chicago Blackhawks are better off when Alex DeBrincat is playing with someone like Dylan Strome. The two have chemistry and can be one of the team’s top offensive pairs. However the moves the past few days have indicated Strome’s time in Chicago might be coming to a close.

Chicago added Lucas Wallmark and Mattias Janmark yesterday. Both are forwards who can add a lot to the Blackhawks bottom six, leaving Strome’s spot as the third line center in jeopardy.

Lucas Wallmark is better in the faceoff dot then Dylan Strome. This past season Wallmark was 50.3 percent in the faceoff dot during his combined season in Carolina and Florida. Strome on the other hand was just 47.7 percent in the dot.

Strome is younger then Wallmark and in my opinion is a more skilled center, but the difference is Wallmark has a contract. Unless Chicago plans to go out and trade one of their centers on their roster or move Dach or Strome to the wing, Strome is expendable.

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The frustrating thing is Stan Bowman has already passed up the opportunity to get a decent return on Dylan Strome. He should have traded him a few days ago back when the return might have been higher for a guy like him.

Honestly, it just seems like the Blackhawks are changing directions on the fly a little too late. If the team was not planning on keeping players like Drake Caggiula or Corey Crawford and wanted to instead focus on the future, they would have traded them at the deadline for draft picks, instead of just letting them walk.

While I know that Stan Bowman was not expecting a flat cap and probably would not be saying the things he is right now if it was not for their financial situation, I do believe this situation, in general, could have been handled better.

Dylan Strome is just 23 years old. The former third overall pick of the 2015 NHL draft still does have a lot of hockey in front of him. If Chicago decides to give him a contract I am sure he can shine. Right now, the Blackhawks have about 5 million in cap space heading into next season.

That is plenty of money to get Strome under contract for next season. If the team decides they want to move on from him after giving him a contract, they can go out and sell at the deadline. However, the Blackhawks might not even give Strome another chance.