Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. Day Two of the NHL’s “Free Agent Frenzy” period is now at its conclusion, where not only did the Rangers officially say both “thank you” and “goodbye” to Ryan Strome – but they added some minor pieces to their 2022-23 roster too.
Let me let you in on a little secret – most writers, whether professional or just bloggers (like yours truly), rather work smart than work stupid. Of course, that’s not always the case, but more times than not – it is the case!
After posting last night’s blog (link featured in tonight’s PLUGS segment), where I recapped the first day of the NHL’s “Free Agent Frenzy” period; as I somewhat expected (other bloggers would use the nauseating two-word phrase of “I KNEW” here), news immediately broke, which in turn, made that blog somewhat outdated.
That news? Ryan Strome’s latest 3,000 mile journey.
The former Islander-turned-Oiler-turned-Ranger, is now in Anaheim, where not only is he reunited with former Ranger Frank Vatrano – but he’ll soon team-up with the likes of Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras too.
During the eight-year history of this site, whenever a long-time Ranger departs Manhattan (four-years is a long time to me, especially in this era of the disgusting hard salary cap), I like to give that player a career retrospective. I do this for two reasons – one, as a Rangers’ historian, I have fun going back and looking at each player’s tenure with the Rangers. Two, I like to pay my respects to the players who I deem as great Rangers – which I believe Strome was – regardless if that’s a popular opinion or not.
As you all know already, I’ve been hyping up one of the book projects that I’m currently working on for some time now, “The Best & Worst Trades in Rangers’ History (And Everything In-Between”) (working title).
On this site, I’ve previously discussed what the book will be about and how I’m covering each trade. I’ve also included two sample chapters already, when I shared my Matt Cullen (https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/7122/) chapter, and then gave you a sneak preview of my Adam Graves (https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/7622/ ) chapter.
Rather than writing two separate things about Ryan Strome (time is of the essence, and I’m currently approaching the year of 2016 – which means I have only six years to go before completing my rough draft of this trades book), I figured I’d jump ahead to the year 2018 and write the Ryan Strome chapter today.
Tonight, I’ll share this unedited (not finalized) chapter about Strome’s tenure with the Rangers with you, as by doing so, I’m killing two birds with one stone. (I use this expression a lot, but I’ve never killed one bird in my life, never-mind murdering two birds with a singular stone.) It pays to work smart!
After sharing the Strome chapter with you below; I’ll then cover the rest of the Rangers’ news from Thursday, close out this manifesto, and then go back to working on this book – a book where I’m really trying to have complete before the 2022-23 season begins.
And as noted previously on this site – while the writing is most certainly a process – it’s the best process. It’s everything else that causes lengthy delays, such as editing, formatting, publishing and everything else involved with releasing a book. (Plus, with this book over 2,000 pages before being edited/trimmed/whatever word you want to use here – what already is a lengthy process only becomes lengthier.)
With that all out of the way, I present to you the Ryan Spooner for Ryan Strome trade from November of 2018.
DATE OF TRADE: November 16th, 2018
RANGERS ACQUIRE: Ryan Strome
EDMONTON OILERS ACQUIRE: Ryan Spooner
This trade was arguably Gorton’s third and final “best*” trade of his tenure, where we will talk about that asterisk once we get to the Adam Fox trade from April of 2019.
As discussed earlier, depending on what side of the fence you lean on, either Gorton’s acquisition of Mika Zibanejad, or his decision to send Rick Nash to Boston, was the best trade that he ever made. (Once again – we’ll talk about Adam Fox in due time.)
This trade, which can be traced back to the Rick Nash trade from nine months prior, when the Rangers first acquired Ryan Spooner; this deal was the equivalent of a player scoring a natural hat trick during a Game Seven.
When this particular trade was made, both Ryan’s were struggling. A change of environment was thought to be the best course of action for the two centermen.
And that’s what happened – at least in the case of Ryan Strome – a Strome who would go on to have parts of four successful seasons in New York, where by the end of it, he totaled 195 points in 263 games. In addition, he would later serve the Rangers as an alternate captain, where he had the “A” affixed to his sweater prior to the start of the 2021-22 season – his last as a Ranger.
Following this trade, Ryan Spooner would go on to score only three points in twenty-five games played for the Oilers, before being dealt to Vancouver on February 16th, 2019. Spooner then scored four points in eleven games as a Canuck towards the end of the 2018-19 season – his last in the NHL.
Spooner, the Bruins’ second-round selection (#45th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, was born in Ottawa, Ontario. Once turning professional towards the end of the 2010-11 season, he was then assigned to the Providence Bruins – Boston’s AHL affiliate team.
Spooner cut his teeth in Providence during the early stages of his pro career, but once the NHL returned to play in 2013, he soon received his first four games of NHL experience (of an eventual 325 NHL games played) with the black-and-gold.
In the seasons that followed, the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns, Spooner continued to split time between Boston and Providence. It wasn’t until the 2015-16 season where Spooner finally became a full-time NHLer, where he finished the campaign with 49 points in 80 games played.
While Spooner was serviceable for the Bruins; with a 2018 Stanley Cup Playoff run ahead, the team from Beantown decided to beef up their scoring ranks in the form of Rick Nash, and in turn, considered the center to be expendable. (And as discussed earlier – this trade/idea did not work out for the Bruins.)
Another reason why the Bruins included Spooner in the trade to New York was because he was on an expiring contract, as he had previously signed a one-year deal worth $2,825,000 during the Summer of 2017.
Once arriving to the Big Apple, Spooner went on a torrid scoring pace, where he averaged nearly a point-per-game, with sixteen points in twenty games played. As a reward for this production, on July 31st, 2018, Gorton and Spooner agreed to a two-year contract worth $8,000,000 overall – which broke down to $4,000,000 per season.
This contract soon became Gorton’s biggest mistake yet, and similar to the error that he’d later make, when handing out a fat deal to Brady Skjei, was one mistake that the general manager would soon distance himself from.
Spooner, who ended the 2017-18 season on a high note with the Rangers, opened up the 2018-19 season in a completely opposite manner.
Not even two months into his new deal, Spooner only had two points in sixteen games played, tremendously bombed during a mini-audition on the Rangers’ first line, and then soon found himself as a healthy scratch. And during an era where cap-hits matter – he also took up five percent of the Rangers’ salary cap.
Once leaving New York and then failing to do much of anything with the two Canadian franchises (Edmonton and Vancouver); come the 2019-20 season he was off to Switzerland, where he played for the HC Lugano.
Despite being in both a new country and in a new league – after just two games played with his new team, he became a healthy scratch. It was then publicly voiced that he would not be re-inserted into the Lugano line-up anytime soon.
Now a player without a home, Spooner quickly hooked up with the Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. He completed the 2019-20 pandemic-plagued season with the team, and then stayed with the club for the 2020-21 season too.
After a 2021-22 season spent with the Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL), on June 15th, 2022, Spooner signed a one-year contract with the Dinamo Minsk, which as a result, returned him to his first KHL club.
Needless to say, Ryan Strome, who still plays in the NHL today, was the better player of the two men involved in this deal.
Strome, from Mississauga, Ontario, was the Islanders’ first-round selection (#5th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. (Over time, he’d become the first player in NHL history to score 100 points or more with both the Rangers and the Islanders.)
The center, once the NHL returned from their lock-out, finished up his time with the Niagara Icedogs (OHL) and then turned pro in 2013. He was then assigned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he then played in ten games.
During the 2013-14 season, Strome spent an equal amount of time in the AHL (37 games) and with the Islanders (37 games). A season later, the 2014-15 campaign, he was now a full-time NHLer, where he scored 17 goals and added 33 assists for a grand total of 50 points in 81 games – numbers which would remain as his career-highs until he became a Ranger.
A day prior to the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Islanders traded him to the Oilers in exchange for Jordan Eberle. Somewhat similar to Spooner (although Strome had a full season with his new team in Edmonton), Strome played well enough, where he finished the 2017-18 campaign with 34 points in 82 games played.
Strome, who had fared well with the new face in Oil Town, Connor McDavid; the center then signed a two-year deal worth $6,200,000 overall ($3,100,000 per season) with the Oilers on July 6th, 2018. And just like Spooner – Strome, now enjoying the most money of his career at this point – bombed at the start of the 2018-19 season.
Strome, who previously had scored 50 points during a single-season, only had two points in eighteen games with the Oilers at the time of this trade.
That’s why when this trade was made, it was a case of two franchises swapping bad contracts with one another, where both teams hoped that a new environment would help these players realize their potential and regain their previous forms.
It sure worked out for “The Stromer.”
In just 63 games played during the 2018-19 season with the Rangers, Strome scored 18 goals, which at the time, was his career-high total in goals scored. A season later, the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, Strome scored 18 goals again, but this time, also added 41 assists to his ledger, which gave him a grand total of 59 points. As of this writing, his 41 assists and 59 points from this season remain as his career–highs.
Following the best season of his career, and with his two-year deal first signed with the Oilers now expired; Strome then signed a two-year deal worth $9,000,000 overall ($4,500,000 per season) with Gorton on November 5th, 2020.
During the pandemic-shortened 56 game 2021 season, Strome continued to execute, where he finished the season with 14 goals and 35 assists. A season later, the 2021-22 season, his last in New York, he scored 21 goals (a career-high) and picked up 33 assists for a grand total of 54 points.
Strome, who nearly played four complete seasons with the Rangers, had many buddies during his days on 33rd Street & Seventh Ave. Whether it were his friendships with Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Lemieux or whoever, it didn’t matter – Strome was well-liked – which is why not only did he become the face/host of Rangers’ internet skits – he became a team-leader too.
Of course, another relationship that worked out extremely well for Strome, both personally and professionally, was the relationship that he had with his left winger, Artemi Panarin. As of this Summer of 2022 writing, the best seasons of Strome’s career came with Panarin flanking him.
However, what’s often lost, especially in the silly comments of “Strome only played well because he played with Panarin,” is that #16 in Rangers’ blue played just as well without “The Breadman,” whenever #10 was out with injury, illness, or because of matters out of his own hands (the Russian political situation from the 2021 season).
While Strome most certainly was at his best whenever Panarin was with him; at the same time, Strome was still productive and willed the Rangers to wins whenever Panarin wasn’t around.
As previously discussed and exhibited throughout this book, the salary cap doesn’t favor players staying in one place for too long.
During the 2021-22 season, Strome was set to become a free agent once the season became complete. According to reports, Strome, his agent, and the Rangers, all had various discussions about a new contract, where rumors of either a four-year or five-year deal worth $5,250,000 per season were had.
While Strome’s future for upcoming seasons was always a topic of discussion during this time – Strome never let that factor into his play.
Despite a severe pelvis injury suffered during the latter stages of the 2021-22 season, Strome played through it. When the pelvis injury was re-aggravated during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Strome continued to will his way through, where admittedly, he wasn’t able to. (As of this writing, it’s up-in-the-air if Strome will require surgery to repair this injury or not. Also, keep in mind that even with his status as a pending unrestricted free agent, he still played while hurt, rather than sitting out.)
For some Ranger fans, they will only harp on some of the empty nets that Strome missed during his time in New York (as if he was the second-coming of Gene Carr), including one opportunity during the 2022 Eastern Conference Final. (Ignored in that talk was Strome’s pelvis injury and how a pass wasn’t properly delivered to him.)
On July 13th, 2022, Strome, who was very emotional during his final interview as a Ranger, where he made it clear that he hoped to be back, signed a five-year deal worth $25,000,000 overall ($5,000,000 per season) with the Anaheim Ducks.
In a way, and with hindsight being 20/20, Strome’s final season with the Rangers was reminiscent of others, including former Rangers’ captain, Ryan Callahan.
As discussed earlier, while Callahan was traded, “Captain Cally” also thought he was worth more during his final season, and rejected contract offers that the Rangers had sent his way.
It’s this author’s impression that Strome never wanted to leave the Rangers. Heck, just watch any of his final interviews, and you’ll get the same impression yourself.
However, following his refusal to sign offers previously afforded to him during the 2021-22 season; Rangers’ general manager, Chris Drury, changed directions and then signed center Vinny Trocheck (as Strome’s replacement at the second center position), thus opening the door for Strome’s arrival to Disneyland.
On July 14th, one day after officially leaving the Rangers and now with the Ducks, Strome said the following on social media:
“I loved and embraced every minute of playing at MSG and being a New York Ranger. My family and I are going to miss everyone from the training/equipment staff, amazing people behind the scenes, and most importantly, a great group of guys in the room. A big thank you for everything!
I’m really humbled and excited for the next chapter with the Anaheim Ducks. According to my kids I’m Daddy Duck now. SoCal here we come, can’t wait… LFG!”
Ranger fans were lucky to have Strome on the roster for four seasons, as this Spooner/Strome swap was unequivocally one of the best Ranger trades of not only the Jeff Gorton Era, but of the post “The Letter” era too.
On Thursday, the Rangers not only sent out a note of thanks to Ryan Strome, but they thanked all of their recent departures too:
After the Rangers paid their respects to their now “dearly departed;” Chris Drury, as he hinted at on Wednesday, then made a flurry of moves, with the signing of Bobby Carpenter being his biggest acquisition of the day.
Here’s what the Rangers are saying about their newest center, a center who could perhaps replace “ROON DOGS” on the fourth line next season, courtesy of https://www.nhl.com/rangers/news/rangers-agree-to-terms-with-ryan-carpenter/c-334980508?icmp=int_web_nyr_news_rightrail:
New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Ryan Carpenter on a one-year contract.
Carpenter, 31, notched three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 67 games with the Calgary Flames (8 GP) and Chicago Blackhawks (59 GP) in 2021-22. Prior to being dealt by Chicago on March 21, 2022, Carpenter ranked tied for third on the club in faceoff percentage (min. 100 faceoffs) with a 52.3 percent clip and third in shorthanded time-on-ice (128:14).
The Oviedo, Florida native has played in 308 NHL games, split between Calgary (2021-22), Chicago (2019-20 – 2021-22), Vegas (2017-18 – 2018-19), and San Jose (2015-16 – 2017-18), notching 26 goals and 43 assists for 69 points. With the Golden Knights in 2018-19, and Gerard Gallant as his head coach, Carpenter posted career highs in points (18) and assists (13), while also recording a career-high 52.6 faceoff win percentage. In 2017-18, with San Jose and Vegas, he scored a career-high nine goals.
A 6-0, 200-pound righthander, Carpenter is one of 17 Florida-born skaters to play in at least one NHL game and has the sixth most points all-time of any Florida-born player.
Carpenter played in parts of four AHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks affiliates, notching 130 points (44G-86A) in 206 games. In 2015-16, Carpenter won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, presented annually to the American Hockey League’s man of the year for service to his local community.
For what it’s worth, I know that Carpenter was really well-liked during his days in Chicago. While who knows how “THE TURK” will use him, he seems like a solid replacement/option for Rooney.
In addition, with the acquisitions of both Carpenter and Trocheck, you can see that Drury is loading up on hard-hitting centermen who can win faceoffs.
Just as Drury did last season, when he signed a bunch of rugged forwards to shore up the Rangers’ biggest weakness; this off-season, he’s shoring up a Rangers weakness that’s seemingly been around ever since Craig MacTavish won the final faceoff of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final.
In other signings (signings that haven’t been announced by the team yet), the Rangers/Drury also signed:
— Turner Elson, a left-winger who seems destined for a trip to Hartford, to a two-year deal worth $1,525,000 overall ($762,500 per season).
— Andy Welinski, a defenseman who also seems to have the Wolfpack in his future, to a one-year deal worth $750,000 overall.
Following all of the moves from Thursday; according to CapFriendly.com, the Rangers still have $3,308,531 to play around with, where I assume that Kaapo Kakko will soon cut that number by over 50%.
For what it’s worth, Tyler Motte still remains unsigned.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Rangers would probably like to enter the season with some cap space available, especially for the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.
While you can always get creative during your deadline deals; obviously, it’s better to have some money to finagle with, rather than having empty pockets – this also applies to “real life” too!
As mentioned a few times this week, the Rangers could care less if you want to see Friday’s scrimmage – just as they couldn’t be bothered to share Chris Drury’s press conference from Wednesday.
While Friday’s scrimmage featuring the Rangers’ “youts” isn’t an end-all, be-all type of a thing; at the same time, you do want to hear that Brennan Othmann was the best player of that game.
As we all know, the Rangers are going to need their young players to step up and fill in the holes that the salary cap has wreaked upon their veterans. While this doesn’t fall on the shoulders of Othmann (it falls on the shoulders of guys like Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and others), having Othmann around as an option could only benefit the Rangers. (Duh!)
Lastly, and just as a follow-up here, Nazem Kadri, one of the two top free agents of this Class of ’22 (Johnny Gaudreau, of the BLUE JACKETS, and not the Islanders, Devils or Flyers, being the other) hasn’t signed with anyone yet.
PLUGS TIME.
On Wednesday afternoon, our buddies over at “2 Guys 1 Cup” returned with a new episode, where they talked about the NHL Free Agency period. The dynamic between co-hosts Shawn S. & Roc was fun to listen to as well – especially since the two had differing opinions on the Rangers’ acquisition of Vincent Trocheck.
To listen to the episode, click the link below:
Free Agent Frenzy! Our thoughts on todays signings and moves! #NYR #NoQuitInNY https://t.co/CSF4LXzNO0
— 2 Guys 1 Cup Podcast (@2G1CRangers) July 13, 2022
On Wednesday evening, our other buddies, Jim S. & Eddie G., of “The Blueshirt Underground Show,” also returned with a new episode, where they recapped the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and the NHL Free Agency period.
To listen/watch the show, click the play button below:
My first plug of tonight’s blog – the mandatory plug for my book, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden”.
As mentioned previously, the book is now available in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle formats. To purchase a copy of the book, visit this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Rafters-Madison-Square-Garden-ebook/dp/B09CM5N2WD
For those still looking for signed paperback versions of the book, I have re-ordered more copies. I now have a few signed copies for sale at $25 a pop (includes shipping price) through me directly. Here is all the information on that:
Order “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden” Book Today
Here are my last few blogs, in case you missed them:
NHL Free Agent Frenzy Day One Recap & Review: NYR Lose a Bunch of Veterans; Bring in Trocheck & a Ranger Killer, Time for the Blueshirts’ Kids To Grow, Drury’s Comments; Erases His Lone Black Mark, Kakko, Potential Line-Up, Alumni, Bad Puns & More
Breadlines & Deadlines: Rangers’ Clickbait Suggests a 100 Man Roster; Video Game GM’s, The Buzz on Patrick Kane & Nazem Kadri (And How To Land Both), NYR Development Camp Fails Fans; Brennan Othmann Creating Them, Drury Qualifies RFA’s; A Surprising Pass, Alumni & More
2022 NHL Entry Draft Thoughts: Two Days of Never-Ending Cliches; Rangers Nab Centers, Salary Cap Exposes Bettman, NYR Alumni Update; DeAngelo & Torts Pair Up in Philly (And Why It Will Work), Talbot’s Agent Wilds Out, Georgiev Gets Dream Gig, Bring on FA & More
If you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog for the next update:
I’m almost out of the the Sather era for the trades book! Once I finish that, I think I can get through the Gorton era fairly quickly.
And yep, both the Sather and Esposito eras have taken up a lot of my time! (If anyone knows a good doctor for carpal tunnel syndrome, send them my way!)
Thanks for reading.
Thank you Ryan Strome.
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the Tweeter machine
Sad to see Strome leave the Blue Shirts. He was an honest hockey player who earned every dime. Anaheim is a young team on the way up and his presence will be welcomed.
Totally agree with all of your points – sorry for the delayed response.