Chicago Blackhawks: Can Dylan Strome get a contract already?

The NHL season is quickly approaching. For the Chicago Blackhawks, that means the time to sign Dylan Strome is drawing to a close. The silence between the two parties needs to end.

The silence between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dylan Strome is getting old. Why has the team not re-signed one of their top forwards? Sure, Strome had a bad season, but in the long term picture for the ‘Hawks, I still believe he is involved.

When the Chicago Blackhawks traded Nick Schmaltz to the Arizona Coyotes for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini, they sent the message that no one is purely untouchable on their roster. That being said, after a pretty strong campaign out of Strome during his first year, it looked like that he would stick around with the ‘Hawks.

During the 2018-19 season Strome put up 51 points (17 goals and 34 assists) in 58 games with the Blackhawks. Strome was a big piece on an arguably frustrating Blackhawks team with how inconsistent they were. He had 17 minutes of ice time on average during 2018-19 and was a critical part of the ‘Hawks power play.

One of the reasons for Strome’s success was who he was playing with. When Strome came to Chicago, he was reunited with a former Erie Otter teammate in Alex DeBrincat, someone Strome liked to play with. The two quickly rekindled their chemistry on the ice and helped almost put the Blackhawks in a playoff spot.

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On October 3rd, 2019, DeBrincat signed a massive three-year deal at 6.4 million dollars a year. So, he is signed until the end of the 2022-23 season. If Chicago also decided to sign Strome at the beginning of last season, he probably would have gotten more than he will now.

The 2019-20 season was not so good for Dylan Strome. After the 2019 NHL draft, the ‘Hawks looked like they were willing to have three good centers ready to tear up the NHL in Toews, Dach, and Strome. Over the course of the year, Dach quietly showed that he should be the number two center behind Toews and not Strome. The rookie even led a lot of the ‘Hawks in ice time during the playoffs.

Strome’s stock might not be as high as it once was with Chicago, but he deserves another chance to prove himself. His ice time dropped by almost two minutes last season, and after playing on a lot of power plays and being paired with DeBrincat, that all slowly slipped away last season.

I am not trying to give Dylan Strome any excuses or anything like that, but at the same time, let’s give him another chance this season to play with DeBrincat and maybe someone like Patrick Kane. Why do you think Chicago hasn’t signed Strome yet?