Revisiting An Old Trade: Dylan Strome Comes To Chicago

Dylan Strome was a highly touted prospect in the 2015 draft, being selected 3rd overall by Arizona. Strome never quite panned out in Arizona, only skating in 48 games over three seasons, tallying 16 points in the process. After the move to Chicago, Strome found his groove. Strome scored 154 points in 225 games.

Brendan Perlini was viewed as an afterthought in this deal, but he did bring a physical presence to the Blackhawks lineup on a nightly basis. It was clear that Bowman was trying to recreate some of the grinder mentality that made the dynasty successful, but Perlini wasn't the right man. He scored 15 points in 47 games for the Blackhawks before being moved to Detroit.

Nick Schmaltz never seemed to figure it out in Chicago. He always seemed to try to make a pass instead of taking an open shot on the rush and never seemed to click the way the Hawks thought he would after being drafted with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft. Schmaltz scored 91 points in 162 games with Chicago. After being traded to Arizona, Schmaltz has scored 150 points in 202 games. The injury bug seemed to always get Schmaltz at the worst times, just as he seemed to be turning a corner.

While the trade on paper seems very fair, I think the Blackhawks made the right move trading for Dylan Strome. Strome has a higher career faceoff percentage (48.6%) compared to Schmaltz's 40.4%. Strome also found instant chemistry with Alex DeBrincat, which helped the Hawks find some success in seasons that didn't go as planned. While Stan Bowman has made some bad trades over the years, this is not one of them.