Jeremy Colliton looked like a man who read the comments.
He was stifling a scowl, looking off to the side rather than into the camera. His words were slow and deliberately chosen, with none of the quick smiles and asides that typically punctuate his press conferences. Maybe he was just still ticked off about Wednesday night’s game, which had ended some 14 hours earlier, a game in which the Blackhawks had the undefeated Hurricanes on the ropes, needing only to play it smart the rest of the way, only to get knocked out in the final round.
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Or maybe he knew the question was coming. My colleagues and I — and all of our readers — have certainly harped on The Dylan Strome Situation (TM) enough. Given how little give-and-take is offered in a Zoom setting, when it’s two questions and you’re muted, I tried to ease my way into it on Thursday, rather than just asking how five fourth-liners can get in the lineup and Strome (and Adam Gaudette, for that matter) can’t.
“You talked a lot in the offseason and in the preseason about wanting to be ‘tougher to play against’ and having more physical grinder-types in the lineup. Is that a fine line to walk when you need offense, too, to find the right mix between how many of those guys you need and how many skill guys you need?”
Here’s Colliton’s very deliberately paced answer and my one follow-up, in full.
“Well, it’s definitely important to have balance in your lineup,” he said. “I think we’re still struggling with the balance of understanding that it’s not the most important thing to try and score every time you’re on the ice. And having a willingness (to make) defending your first priority and being willing to grind for 60 minutes, because that’s what’s necessary to win. Carolina is a perfect example. They’re perfectly willing to do that. They frustrate you, they don’t give you anything, they make you work for everything you get, and they just feel that over 60 minutes they’ll get their chances. To me, the teams that are successful in the league, they tilt more toward that mindset than the idea that they’re going to outscore you. I think last night illustrates that better than any. We played a pretty solid game to be up 3-1. I thought right from after our third goal, we give them too much life and chances to get back in the game. And we need to have the mindset of being ready and prepared to defend every shift, and that’s part of some of the decisions we’ve made as far as who’s on the roster and who’s playing, because we need to have that mindset when we play.”
“Is that something you specifically talk about with Dylan Strome when he’s trying to figure out how to get back in the lineup?”
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“Among others, yes,” he said. “Everyone who is playing — it’s not about having a scoring line or a checking line. There are lines and players who, because of their skill sets, are maybe more likely to score. But we need four lines that are willing to check. Until we are closer to that, it’s going to be tough for us to win.”
The tl;dr version of that: Strome’s offense doesn’t offset his defensive weaknesses. And on another team, yeah, I could buy that. But not this team. Not this 1-8-2 team. Not this team that has 13 five-on-five goals in 11 games. Not this team that gave Ryan Carpenter more than five minutes of power-play time against Carolina, even having him on PP1 down a goal late in the third period. Not this team that simply does not have 12 forwards who are better overall players than Strome. Not this team that keeps playing Erik Gustafsson — not exactly a defense-first guy — in a significant role on the blue line.
Look, Strome is not going to save the Blackhawks’ season. He’s not the missing piece. He’s not going to singlehandedly turn this team into some kind of offensive juggernaut. And yeah, he is often a defensive liability. He’s a little slow-footed and gets out of position too often in his own end.
But he’s also posted 107 points in 160 games with the Blackhawks. And while he has just one assist in his four games this season, he’s proven time and again that he produces when he’s with good players. He’s a natural playmaker, a great passer with keen vision. He has natural chemistry with his longtime running buddy Alex DeBrincat, and Patrick Kane loves playing with him because they both think the game similarly. But Strome has played just 17 five-on-five minutes with DeBrincat this season, according to Natural Stat Trick. He’s played just 27 seconds with Kane. Just two minutes with Jonathan Toews. Just four minutes with Kirby Dach. Just three minutes with Dominik Kubalik.
You’re 1-8-2. Maybe at least try him with some skilled linemates?
Dig deeper and the numbers continue to back Strome’s case. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but that’s kind of the whole point here, right? Strome’s gotten in just four of 11 games this season. In those four games, he’s played 47:18 of five-on-five time. The Blackhawks have not been scored on in those 47 minutes and 18 seconds. Through his first three games, Strome — bouncing around the lineup, and from wing to center and back — had a team-best expected goals-for percentage of 66.22, according to Evolving Hockey. Even after being shunted down to an ill-suited fourth-line role in this fourth game with MacKenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson and playing quite poorly in the process, he has the second-best xGF on the team at 52.74, behind only Mike Hardman, the one grinder who’s consistently shown a real two-way game so far this season. When Strome is on the ice, the Blackhawks are averaging nearly 34 scoring chances per 60 minutes (for contrast, Kane — who also is not exactly known for his defense — is at 25.48 scoring chances per 60). He’s played fine at worst, pretty good at best.
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Reese Johnson was just demoted to Rockford on Thursday to make room for Nicolas Beaudin, because Riley Stillman (and Jujhar Khaira) are ineligible to travel to Winnipeg because of Canadian COVID-19 protocols. But before his demotion, Johnson got in six games, two more than Strome, all while being statistically the worst player in the NHL, with a hard-to-fathom xGF percentage of 20.89. Entwistle has played in all but one game this season despite an xGF percentage of 26.51. The Blackhawks give up more than 30 scoring chances per 60 minutes with Entwistle on the ice while generating just 17 of their own.
Being “willing to check” is important, yes. But being successful at it matters, too.
And hey, this isn’t meant to take shots at those guys. It’s only been a few weeks and they’re young. Johnson and Entwistle can still turn into solid NHLers some day. But the question here is why do they get a longer leash, more leniency to make mistakes, and more chances than Strome, who unquestionably has a higher ceiling than either of them?
The elephant in the room, of course, is the Blackhawks’ nearly yearlong dangling of Strome on the trade market. And Kyle Davidson taking over as interim general manager clouds the situation even further. Davidson still hasn’t spoken publicly since Stan Bowman’s ouster. Does he like Strome as a player? Does he want him in the lineup? Does he have the authority — or even the desire — to get Colliton to play Strome more? And even if the Blackhawks do want to magnanimously give Strome a fresh start somewhere else, can they afford to sell low on one of their best trade chips, a 24-year-old former no. 3 pick who’s a proven producer at the NHL level? If all you can get for him is, say, a third-round pick that’ll likely not pan out, it’d be GM malpractice to do so, even if it’s ultimately what Strome needs and wants. And his value will only go up if he’s playing and producing. So even if you want him gone, you need to play him.
Strome said a couple of weeks ago that there was “not much communication” when you’re not in the lineup, though Colliton and Strome had an on-ice chat after Monday’s morning skate. But mostly, Strome just twists in the wind.
“It’s like a weird situation,” he said on Oct. 21 when he got into his first game. “Usually, when you get scratched or after you play bad, there’s a reason you’re scratched. Obviously, like Jeremy said a few times in the media, thought I had a pretty good preseason and produced a little bit, and created a lot of chances and felt pretty good. … I wanted to play and it sucks not playing. At the same time, I felt I didn’t do anything negatively to impact myself not being in the lineup.”
He still hasn’t. If occasionally not defending well is grounds for benching, the Blackhawks wouldn’t be able to ice a full team right now. Again, and this can’t be stressed enough, they’re 1-8-2. Not putting Strome (and again, Gaudette) with skill players isn’t working. So maybe try putting them with skill players?
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I’m sure I’m seeing Strome too optimistically here, perhaps my opinion of him overinflated and exaggerated from watching the Blackhawks struggle without him night after night. But I’m also sure Colliton is seeing Strome too pessimistically. Strome is one of the Blackhawks’ 12 best forwards. This is indisputable. He belongs in the lineup. It’s time to stop coming up with excuses to bench him and to simply let him fail or succeed on his own merits. Free Dylan Strome.
(Top photo: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)
