One of the more interesting and exciting things to watch for next season for the Washington Capitals is the center position. Nicklas Backstrom is out for the season, at least as far as we know. Everything else is pretty much the same. There will be one new face, and he will be an fun one to watch this upcoming season, Dylan Strome.
In all likelihood Strome will lineup in the 2C spot, behind Evgeny Kuznetsov and above Lars Eller or maybe Connor McMichael if he can prove he is ready for a center role this season. That will give the Capitals a center depth of Kuznetsov, Strome, Eller and Dowd. On paper, that looks pretty good. Very good considering early this off-season you were made aware that a team legend won’t be playing this season and you then had a giant hole to fill.
Strome still comes with his questions though. The biggest question is probably how or why the former number three overall pick has not found a permanent home. Strome was picked third in 2015 behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. He was picked ahead of Mitch Marner who went 4th that year. He was also taken ahead of Zach Werenski, Timo Meier, Mikko Rantanen, Mathew Barzal, Kyle Conner and Thomas Chabot, just to name a few.
Hard to call him a bust however. Looking at his numbers over the last few seasons and it seems he has turned into a decent NHLer. The problem is when you’re taken 3rd overall you’re looking for more than decent.
With the Blackhawks in 2018-19 he scored 17 goals and 51 points in 58 games. He then played another 58 games with them the very next season but only put up 38 points with 12 of them being goals. After that he had another down year in scoring putting up just 17 points in 40 games played. Finally last season with Chicago he had 48 points with 22 goals in 69 games played.
Not great, but those were not very good teams at the same time. Some of those number are good, some are not. The 51 points in 18-19 is something we can look at and hope he can recapture in D.C. At the same time we can look to something much more recent, the 22 goals he scored last season. That was a career high, maybe he can keep that train rolling and set an even higher mark this season.
One thing that has to be considered is the fact that Strome will not be bringing his usual line mates from Chicago with him. Strome has not brought Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat to Washington, and when you look at the numbers that could be a problem.
Last season when Strome played with Kane and DeBrincat, on paper, things look good. They played 432 minutes together, they scored 29 goals and allowed 22 goals. That lines Corsi% was 50.60%, their scoring chance for% was 50.48 and their high danger chance% was 49.39%. All of this also meaning their expected goals for% was a pretty good 51.87%.
Last season without Kane and DeBrincat, Strome’s numbers look a lot less impressive. He played 204 minutes without either of those two players. During that time he and his other line mates scored 4 goals and allowed 8 goals. The Corsi% was 44.90, the scoring chances% was at 43.52, the high danger attempts% was 45.21 and the expected goals percentage was 42.75%.
No disrespect to anyone in Washington, Strome won’t be playing consistent minutes with any player like Kane or DeBrincat. The only player on the Capitals that has the talent of those two guys is Alex Ovechkin, at least in terms of forwards. The other guy you could put in that class is Evgeny Kuznetsov, but he is, of course, a center, and they won’t play together obviously.
Most assume, and I agree completely, that Strome will start at 2C and he will be aligned with Anthony Mantha and T.J. Oshie. That at least to start to season, we will see what the lineup looks like when Tom Wilson is able to return.
Again, Mantha and Oshie are good players. But neither of them are a former MVP and one of the best players of his generation, and neither of them are a multiple forty goal scorer. Mantha, similar to Strome, still has some untapped potential, Oshie is getting older and always seems to be fighting an injury.
This concern of mine is also simply not knowing enough about Strome as a whole. When reading what others say about him, he sounds like he is a pretty good player. Instead of me trying to sound like I know what I’m talking about, why not take a look at this article here from someone who clearly has watched more Strome than me.
This article is also potentially very helpful when trying to figure out what kind of a player that Capitals are getting.
Bottom line for me. The Capitals have gotten a player who is a little better than average skater, a scorer who has to play with the right players to get points, not a very good 200 foot player and not someone you can rely on to win faceoffs, he is just over 48% for his career.
Now don’t get my words twisted here. I still think the Strome signing was a good one. This is a high reward no risk signing, at least in my humble opinion.
However, just like everything in life, you have to look at every side and every angle of a situation. There is an obvious upside here, but the downside is simply this. You have to ask the question, can Strome contribute when not playing with great players?
The Capitals lineup has good players all over the place. But, unless Strome spends a good amount of time playing with Ovechkin I think his point production will be a question. Ovechkin and Kuznetsov seem destined to play the majority of time together which leaves Strome with having to find chemistry and points with others.
Can Strome produce in Washington without Kane and DeBrincat? Sure! It’s very possible. On the other hand I think we should all go into this season with some healthy skepticism. None of us should say he can’t do it. But he needs to prove it, and only time will tell.