SERIES SO FAR
Aberg
Bear
Russell
Puljujarvi
Benning
Rattie
Lucic
Draisaitl
Nugent-Hopkins
Talbot
Caggiula
Klefbom
McDavid
The 25-year-old struggled to find consistency on the wing to begin his Oilers career after being acquired last off-season from the New York Islanders in a trade for Jordan Eberle, scoring four goals in his first 33 games.
Post All-Star break, head coach Todd McLellan slated Strome into the role of third line middleman, and the turnaround was notable. The Mississauga, ON native posted five goals and five assists in 14 games during the month of February, including more time on the power play and penalty kill.
Strome put pen to paper on a new two-year deal worth $6.2 million in July, citing responsibility and trust from the coaching staff as key factors in his re-signing with the Oilers.
"I wasn't [an unrestricted free agent], but I definitely knew I wanted to be back in Edmonton," Strome said from his home in Mississauga in August. "For me it's somewhere I felt, for the first time in my career, that the coach really trusts me. I've played for good coaches but I just feel like here in Edmonton with Todd he values what I do and what I can bring."
Finding a place in the forward corps behind the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is important for Strome as he looks to make a bigger impact this season.
"I think when you have such great players like Connor, Leon and Nuge you want to try and fill a role because you know guys like that are going to do something special in their careers," he said. "I've been given the opportunity to have a role and embrace it, and you want to live up to those expectations and you want to help those guys out by complementing them as best you can."
