It’s official, the Chicago Blackhawks are doing everything in their power to be as bad a team as they can possibly be next season. After trading Alex DeBrincat for an underwhelming trio of draft picks on Thursday, they are actively listening to offers on Kirby Dach. Following those two revelations, Bob McKenzie of TSN revealed that Dylan Strome is unlikely to receive a qualifying offer and will head to free agency on July 13th.
Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Strome is not expected to receive a qualifying offer next week, which would make him an unrestricted free agent. The deadline to submit qualifying offers is July 11 and it is believed the team would rather not have the player and shed themselves of any need to pay him than pay the qualifying offer of $3.6 million. While it could be argued that is more than Strome might be worth or will receive on the free agency market, it’s more evidence Chicago is trying to tear things down as quickly as possible and get to a full-blown rebuild immediately.
Related: Alex DeBrincat Traded to Ottawa Senators For 7th-Overall Pick Plus
Strome’s career in the NHL has been up-and-down thus far. He’s seen spurts of little to no production and runs where he’s been a top-line offensive talent, scoring at an incredible pace. The Blackhawks seemingly soured on the player despite a strong 2021-22 NHL season and the organization has being trying to trade the center for quite some time.
Strome, 25, would be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent if qualified. If not, he’ll head to free agency where he can sign anywhere he’d like. It is because of his status as a pending UFA that teams probably weren’t willing to give up anything to trade for him. Clubs would have had to answer, why acquire him and have to qualify him when we can just sign him and likely for less money?
He’ll hit the market coming off a season in which he scored 22 goals and 48 points in 69 games. But, he’ll also be out there as a player who doesn’t play a very well-rounded game. His defensive awareness is not strong and the Blackhawks couldn’t trust him in anything but offensive zone starts. Whether he can shift his game to play a 200-ft game remains to be seen.
Who Might Want Him?
A team that needs a top-nine winger and someone who can be sheltered with some strong two-way players might see Strome as a solid pick-up. If he’s a 20-goal guy, he’s potentially a fit for someone’s top six. That said, it might require a “show-me” type deal where he comes in and proves he can be a consistent NHL regular over 82 games before he’s given a long-term commitment somewhere.
Next: Kirby Dach Trade Talk Heating Up on NHL Draft Day
