Chicago Blackhawks: Dylan Strome still needs a contract for 2021

Dylan Strome still needs a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for 2021.

The Chicago Blackhawks sent out a letter about the idea of rebuilding their roster but nobody knows if they are going to stay true to it. They let Corey Crawford go for nothing but that is about the only move that lines up with the letter that they sent out. With Dylan Strome being an RFA at 23 years old, he is someone they should bring back no matter what. This is a player that is young enough to keep through a rebuild and he is good enough to be on a team that is trying to win now.

He was awesome when he came to the Chicago Blackhawks from the Arizona Coyotes in the Nick Schmaltz trade. In year two with Chicago, he put up good numbers but he wasn’t close to the point per game numbers that he had in the first year. It is hard to evaluate how to pay a guy like that due to how different his two years were. It is fair to assume that he is somewhere in the middle.

He probably isn’t a point-per-game player but he is also probably a bit better than what he showed in 2019-20. You can expect, in a full 82 game season, a guy who scores 20-25 goals and has 30-40 assists for anywhere between 50-65 points. That would be great as a second or third-line center on a good team.

The Blackhawks saw Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome have instant chemistry when Strome came over from Arizona. They played together in juniors for the Erie Otters and were amazing. They picked it right back up where they left off when they were reconnected in the NHL but fell off a little bit last year. With that said, they both have the potential to be big bounce-back players in 2021.

It would help both Strome and DeBrincat tremendously if the Hawks decided to keep Strome. Each of them can be a part of the long term plan based on their age. What would be a good deal for an RFA with his resume at his age? It is probably fair to give him a three or four-year deal with an average annual value of around four million dollars per year.

They are probably going to start purposely getting younger and Strome fits that mold at 23 years old. If they don’t sign him by the time camp starts, they should probably consider trading him to a contender who is willing to give up an asset. They might, however, just be better off by keeping him and signing him.