After months of speculation, Jordan Eberle is on his way to New York as the Oilers have moved the veteran goal scorer. In return the Oilers have acquire Ryan Strome, a player yet to establish himself as a top-six forward after being drafted fifth overall in the 2011 NHL draft.
Personally, I am not a fan of this deal. Strome’s career high in points is 50 and he has taken steps back in each of the last two seasons. I talked with Islanders writer B.D. Gallof earlier this week and he had some interesting points on Strome. I’ll post those points and his scouting report of the player later tonight when I post a full recap with my thoughts from this deal.
In the meantime, I profiled Strome in this year’s off-season targets series. you can read that here.
I leave you with the scouting report on Strome from that off-season targets piece:
What Does He Do Well?:
Strome is described by The Hockey News as having “superlative” offensive acumen and quickness. The report also lists his offensive instincts as a strength and claims that he can make defenders look “silly” with his ability to dangle and make plays.
Not surprisingly, consistency is a big issue with this player. Outside of his strong 2014-15 season, Strome simply has not been able to have sustained success at the NHL level. He’s still young and he’s still growing, but he is not there yet.
This is a player who doesn’t play a physical game and who struggles away from the puck. I’d argue that he would be a step down from Jordan Eberle this season in terms of play away from the puck, while being a clear step down offensively.
Offensively, Strome’s bread and butter is his ability to make plays. He’s not much of a goal scorer, but he has shown flashes of brilliance in setting up his teammates. His career high in goals is just 17, but he’s had two seasons of over twenty assists in the NHL.
Strome can play center or winger, but don’t expect him to help Edmonton’s face-off woes. Strome converted on just 42.7% of his 344 draws this season.
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