John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals’ inking of forward Dylan Strome to a one-year, $3.5 million deal in the 2022 offseason has proven to be a worthy investment, as the former first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes has flourished in his first season as a member of the team.
With an impressive performance offensively and a fit among Washington’s forward corps, Strome, who was rewarded with a five-year extension mid-season, is finishing his first campaign in the Nation’s capital with a bang.
Opinion: The Capitals’ Signing of Dylan Strome Could Prove To Be the Steal of the 2022 Offseason
In the Caps’ Monday night tilt against the New York Islanders, Strome scored the game’s opening goal, marking the fourth straight game with a goal, and the third consecutive contest in which he’s opened the scoring.
Strome has scored the game-opening goal in three-straight contests and has scored the Capitals’ first goal of the game in four-straight games.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 10, 2023
Dylan Strome grabs the failed clear and rips one home to break the ice for Washington just 36 seconds in!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/opZTjlxO5p
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 10, 2023
Strome’s goal against the Isles, which came just 36 seconds into the opening frame, was his 22nd of the season, matching his career-high in Goals. Strome set a career-high in Points earlier in 2023, and now has 62 Points in a new, career-high 79 Games Played.
Tonight marks Strome’s 79th game of the season, which establishes a new single-season career high in games played (previously: 2018-19: 78).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 10, 2023
Strome, who is just 26-years old, figures to play a pivotal part of the Capitals’ offense in the coming seasons, and with two more games remaining following the team’s tilt against New York, his play with the year winding down provides a positive note to a tough season in Washington.
By Michael Fleetwood
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He’s on an 100 point pace in the past 20 games. To me he’s answered our 1C problem at this point, and possibly for the next 5 seasons. If we can sign or trade for another winger for our Top 6 then we might be able to compete next season. Also this might be an unpopular opinion but we need a better backup so we can reduce Kuemper’s workload. The goalie market will be interesting this offseason, and Lindgren’s cap hit will fully bury in the AHL so if there’s no takers we won’t have wasted cap space.
I don’t think it hurts to give him some competition in camp next year with one of the Hershey guys but if they are serious about going back to the playoffs next year they should try to sign a free agent upgrade to the blueline as well as adding a top 6 player.