One of the most shocking non-qualified RFAs to come out of the 2021-22 season was Dylan Strome from Chicago. It seemed certain Strome would catch on somewhere, likely with a top-end team that would need a middle-6 scoring centre. That's exactly what ended up happening:

Let's get to this signing.

What Washington Gets

When it was announced that Strome would not be getting a qualifying offer, I wrote about his NHL career extensively in a Ramblings. Not wanting to sound redundant, readers are encouraged to check that out to see everything Strome can bring to a team.

Long story short, my belief is that Strome is no worse than a third-line centre on a very good team, and probably a second-line centre on lesser rosters. It seems like many players who skate alongside Patrick Kane get their talents discounted, starting with the guy he was traded for initially in Nick Schmaltz, progressing to Artemi Panarin, then to Alex DeBrincat, and now Strome himself. No one would argue that Kane is not a generational offensive winger, but that doesn't mean that everyone who plays beside him is a bad player. It seems the Blackhawks just can't figure that out.

This was a necessary move from Washington as the team expects to have Nicklas Backstrom out for an extended period of time due to his hip surgery. Strome fills in some centre scoring behind Evgeny Kuznetsov and allows Lars Eller to stay in his usual third-line role. Backstrom may be injured, but there is still a plethora of talent on the wings with Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Anthony Mantha, and even Tom Wilson. It also allows them to move Connor McMichael to the wing or switch off the centre position with Strome if they deem it necessary. It gives them options, which isn't something they had yesterday.

Going to the Capitals isn't awful for his fantasy value, but it's not great. Over the last two seasons, he garnered over one-third of his points from the power play as he played often in the top-6. He wasn't given huge minutes but losing top PP exposure hurts any player. Maybe they move him there over Tom Wilson and Anthony Mantha (once Wilson is healthy), but it seems unlikely.

As for his peripherals, Strome doesn't shoot much and he rarely hits. In multi-cat formats, guys who don't skate top power-play minutes, don't shoot, and don't hit aren't valuable. He would have more value in points-only formats, but it's hard to see him racking up more than 50 points unless he gets that top PPTOI.

With Strome on the second line and Eller on the third, where they put McMichael will be interesting. They like Nic Dowd on the fourth line so I do believe McMichael has a shot at the third-line wing slotting. However, with Conor Sheary, Carl Hagelin, and Marcus Johansson around, McMichael might be destined for fourth-line duties again as the top-3 centre slots are now filled. He is good enough to play his way up the lineup, but the mountain just got a little bit higher.

As mentioned in the Ramblings linked earlier, it could open a top centre slotting for the Blackhawks, depending what happens with Jonathan Toews. Chicago still doesn't seem done with their offseason yet so the value of that top slotting might be minimal if Kane moves on.

Who This Helps

Anthony Mantha

Who This Hurts

Lars Eller

Connor McMichael

Hendrix Lapierre