Analyzing The Strome-Schmaltz Trade 4 Years After Completed

On Nov. 25, 2018, the Blackhawks dealt forward Nick Schmaltz to Arizona in exchange for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. The 'Hawks would go on to flip Perlini to Detroit for right-handed defense prospect Alec Regula.

In examining which team got the better deal from the initial swap, each player involved must be studied.

Schmaltz and Strome appear to be relatively similar pieces, each having shown stretches of point-per-game production while centering top-six forward lines.

Strome may have a slight edge in overall skill, but Schmaltz is the far quicker player between the two. Schmaltz is also a year older and on pace to crack all of his career highs, which ironically, occurred during his sophomore season when he was still playing in Chicago.

What Strome lacks in footspeed compared to Schmaltz, he somewhat makes up for in size, holding a three-inch and over 20-pound advantage. Strome has posted 148 points in 212 games since the trade, while Schmaltz has 138 points in 188 contests.

As mentioned earlier, Perlini and Regula also factored into the results. The Blackhawks appeared to have sold high on Perlini, getting Regula back from the Red Wings in return. Perlini has since been in-and-out of the League.

Regula on the other hand has developed into a promising prospect that led OHL defenders in goalscoring in 2019-20 and has been acclimating to the professional game ever since. He will likely be expected to make the full-time jump to the NHL roster next season.

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