The Washington Capitals have re-signed center Dylan Strome to a five-year, $25 million contract, the team announced Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Strome was set to become a restricted free agent next season after signing a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Washington last July.
- The 25-year-old center has 11 goals and 25 assists through 52 games this season.
- His 36 points rank third on the team behind Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Backstory
Strome has found a long-term home in Washington after a strong first half of the 2022-23 season that’s seen him center first and second lines and contribute on the power play. The No. 3 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft joined the Capitals last summer after four seasons in Chicago, where he amassed 60 goals and 94 assists in 225 games.
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Washington is 27-20-6 through 53 games this season, good for fourth place in the Metro Division at the All-Star break.
What this means for Washington
With Strome signed long-term, the Caps’ future at center now has some clarity, with the team likely intending to go Kuznetsov, Strome, Nicklas Backstrom and Nic Dowd down the middle for the next few seasons. Indeed, Kuznetsov, Backstrom and Dowd are all signed through 2024-25. It also seems to spell the end of Lars Eller’s tenure in Washington; the 33-year-old’s contract expires at season’s end. It also raises questions about where center Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre fit into the grand scheme. — El-Bashir
Assessing the contract
Strome’s new contract locks him up through the 2027-28 season — or a season longer than anyone else on the roster. His AAV of $5 million will be the ninth highest on the team next season behind Ovechkin, Backstrom, John Carlson, Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, T.J. Oshie, Darcy Kuemper and Tom Wilson. It’s also likely that the Caps went a little longer on term in order to bring down Strome’s cap hit. — El-Bashir
Dylan Strome's found a long-term landing spot with the Capitals. His $5 million AAV lines up pretty well with what he'd be worth on the open market. pic.twitter.com/rOIsfWViUz
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 3, 2023
What they’re saying
“Dylan is an intelligent and skilled center and has been a great addition to our organization,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement Friday. “We feel his skill set is a great fit for our team as he enters the prime years of his career at an important position.”
Required reading
- Is Dylan Strome the answer for the Capitals? Could he have been for the Blackhawks?
- The Capitals’ subpar January: What’s gone wrong in Washington?
- NHL99: Unburdened after finally winning a Stanley Cup, Alex Ovechkin continues to thrive
(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)