Chicago Blackhawks: Three reasons not to trade Dylan Strome

Center Depth

The Chicago Blackhawks need to know that in today’s game, the center of the ice is so important. Almost every team that has won the Stanley Cup in recent memory has three key components, an elite defenseman to round out a solid blue line, an elite goalie, and multiple superstars at the center of the ice. It sounds like a lot but that is what makes winning the Cup so hard to do.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Washington Capitals had Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and the Los Angeles Kings had Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. Each of them had two superstars playing the position which allowed them to elevate their teams play that much more. Each of them also had a very good third-line center as well when you think about Nick Bonino in Pittsburgh or Lars Eller in Washington.  There is no escaping how important the position is to contenders.

The Blackhawks should keep Strome in the fold in an effort to be deep at center. With Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach in the mix, that is three very good centers. Throw a good fourth line guy in there and you have yourself a championship center-core. All they need to compliment that is a very different defense. All three of these centers were third overall picks so they clearly have all the skills needed to compete. It would be wise to keep them together.