New York Rangers: Predicting Ryan Strome’s role in 2019-20

What will Ryan Strome’s exact role be in 2019-20?

Firstly, let’s revisit recent history by recapping just how effective Ryan Strome was for the Blueshirts last year following his acquisition from the Edmonton Oilers in November, 2018.

With just two points (one goal, one assist) in 18 games for the Oilers, Strome was stagnating in Canada but a return to The Big Apple acted as a lifeboat for the forward.

Having emerged onto the NHL scene with the New York Islanders with 126 points (45 goals, 81 assists) in 258 games, Strome returned to the tri-state area with a point to prove and a burning desire to resurrect his slumping career.

He certainly made a promising start to that mission after flourishing at Madison Square Garden with the Rangers, finishing 2018-19 with 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points in 63 games, including seven power play points, two-game winning goals and two Overtime tucks.

Not only that but Strome excelled in the faceoff circle with a winning percentage of 47.16 – tied for third on the Blueshirts among forwards who finished the year in New York – while also putting up solid numbers in other defensive metrics like blocked shots (31), hits (53) and takeaways (27).

It is interesting that the right shot was used both on the wing and as a center in a bottom six role for the vast majority of his time with the Rangers, and the above numbers suggests that not only does he deserve a shot at potentially filling the vacant second line center role, but he could also thrive with added responsibility.

Now, of course, looking at Strome’s body of work throughout his career, you could argue that the 26-year-old likely won’t muster up a repeat of his outstanding average of 0.24 assists per game and his 0.29 goals per game average last year. A regression is likely but, on the flip side of that, he’s just about to hit his prime levels so there could be some untapped potential still to be unlocked.

Another caveat at play here was mentioned by our very own Steve Paulus last week, who put forward an argument as to why Brett Howden could be the Rangers’ answer to their second line center conundrum.

The young forward, who carved out a superb rookie year in 2018-19, flourished in the faceoff circle with a winning percentage of 48.4 percent (second on the team), while he is a playmaking king as illustrated by his average of 0.26 assists per game. That stat alone could make him more suitable for the second line center berth given that he will have some high-end wings either side of him.

So, if Howden was to win the second line center spot during training camp, what does that mean for Strome? Well, for starters, he could start the year as the team’s third line center and be tasked with providing and driving secondary scoring from the bottom six, while his prowess in the faceoff circle coupled with his ability to be responsible in the defensive zone could make him ideal for such a role.

There is also the possibility that Strome could begin 2019-20 on the wing, a role he’s used to, and he could be used up and down the lineup should the likes of Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov and Filip Chytil need some time out of the spotlight and away from the heat of the battle.