WASHINGTON -- Ryan Strome was still on the phone with Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek when he learned from his wife Sydney about the scheduling bonus to the trade that sent him to the Calgary Flames on Friday.
By coincidence, after playing at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Calgary opened a five-game trip against Strome’s younger brother Dylan and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Monday. That meant an unexpected additional game between the brothers after the Ducks and Capitals played each other twice earlier this season.
Dylan and the Capitals came out on top this time with a 7-3 victory, with each Strome getting an assist in the 15th meeting between them. After Ryan (8-6-1) won the first seven, Dylan (7-6-2) is 7-0-1 in the past eight.
“Always exciting, always fun to play against him,” Dylan Strome said. “Happy he got a new opportunity on a new team.”
Ryan, who will play in his 900th NHL game when the Flames visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, SNW), hoped to get a chance somewhere new before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline on Friday after seeing his role reduced with the Ducks this season. The offseason additions of Mikael Granlund and Chris Kreider and the emergence of 20-year-old rookie Beckett Sennecke pushed Strome down Anaheim’s forward depth chart, and the 32-year-old was unable to find a consistent lineup spot after returning from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for the first 16 games of the season.
Strome had nine points (three goals, six assists) and averaged 12:10 in ice time in 33 games with Anaheim this season. That was down from 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) and his average of 16:41 in ice time in 82 games last season.
“I tried my best to kind of embrace whatever role they were giving me, but I think at the end of the day they wanted different energy guys on the fourth line and you kind of get set in your ways a little bit and it’s just the way it is,” Ryan Strome said. “So, it was kind of tough to deal with, but I’ve been around I’ve before. … So, I just tried to handle it in stride and be a good teammate and tried to be ready for whatever opportunity was going to present itself.”
Strome, who has one season remaining after this one on the five-year, $25 million contract he signed with the Ducks on July 13, 2022, said he did not request a trade, but met recently with Verbeek to discuss his situation and was open to being moved. So, he was grateful to get the call about the trade to the Flames shortly before the 3 p.m. ET deadline on Friday.
“Pat Verbeek was super generous,” Strome said. “When I had a conversation with him, he was great about it, and he could see where I was coming from. He has been a player before, and you want to play. He was great in accommodating that. … It was kind of one of those things that you're kind of waiting for it, but I was good either way. Life's good. I was happy to be there, but at the end of the day you want to play and have a bit more of an opportunity.”
Calgary gave Anaheim a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft to complete the trade. The rebuilding Flames (25-31-7) valued Strome’s experience after moving center Nazem Kadri (Colorado Avalanche) and veteran defensemen MacKenzie Weegar (Utah Mammoth) and Rasmus Andersson (Vegas Golden Knights) before the Trade Deadline.
Strome has 492 points (170 goals, 322 assists) during 13 NHL seasons with the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Rangers, Ducks and Flames. He centered a line between 24-year-old Connor Zary and 20-year-old Matvei Gridin against the Capitals and assisted on Gridin’s goal at 16:08 of the second period, which began the Flames’ surge of three goals in a span of 2:47 to tie the score at 3-3.
“Sometimes there’s a tendency from our group to try to do a little bit too much and make something happen all the time when the composure that an older player has – almost 900 games in the NHL now – they find a way just to settle it down at certain times,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “So, hopefully, that will rub off on some of our younger players. But I also think he’s a player that’s been through a situation like the one we’re in now where we’re bringing some different players along, some younger players.”
