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Armchair GM New York Rangers roster review: Part 1 – Centers

By Jason Katinas

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: (L-R) John Davidson and Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers attends the 2019 NHL Draft at the Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: (L-R) John Davidson and Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers attends the 2019 NHL Draft at the Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

#16 Ryan Strome

The second line center for most of the season, Ryan Strome found a sweet spot for chemistry with the Artemi Panarin, his usual left wing. That chemistry led to Strome putting up career best numbers in assists (41) and points (59), while his 18 goals fell only one short of tying his career high, all during this COVID-19 shortened season.

The questions about Strome continually circle around his chemistry with Panarin and his previous career stat line of just under 38 points a season on average, from his debut in 2013-14  through the 2018-19 season. Is Strome simply a late bloomer, who at 26 has finally found the game that had him drafted #5 overall in in 2011? Or is this a career spike, much like Derick Brassard who put up career numbers in 2014/15 and 2015/16 before his production regressed to more closely resemble his career averages?

Chemistry is a fickle thing, and finding the correct linemates that bring out the best in each other can be a coaching nightmare. So once you find it, it’s best to stick with it.  That said, is the chemistry between Panarin and Strome mutually beneficial? Meaning, does Panarin need Strome to be the success story he has been to this point as much as Strome has needed Panarin? This is not to suggesting that Strome has been leeching production off his left wing, but 34 of his 59 points on the season (57.6%) and 13 of his 18 goals share the scoresheet with Panarin.  Conversely, Strome only shared the scoresheet on 35.7% of Panarin’s points while assisting on only 10 of his 32 goals.  It’s easy to see that Strome has been the greater beneficiary of their on-ice relationship.

Additionally, as a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) and with Filip Chytil and several NCAA centers ready to compete for jobs, how much is that not so quite two-way street relationship worth? As a comparable, Kevin Hayes with one 50 point and one 20 goal season received a $7 million/7 year contract, which is far too much to pay for a player that should project to be a future third liner for this team. That said, keeping the RFA on a one year deal, max, to give Chytil more time to grow may be a prudent decision. That means he’ll be an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) at the end of the 2020-21 season, opening the possibility of a deadline deal that could net a similar return as the Hayes deal did.

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