Two weeks have passed since ryan strome left the new york rangers in free agency, signing a five-year contract worth $5 million annually with the anaheim ducks.
Strome had a career resurrection in his three-plus seasons with the Rangers: he was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ryan Spooner, another underachieving striker, and became a dependable second-row center who thrived on artemi panarin on his wing Strome had 195 points in 263 games as a Ranger after scoring 162 points in his first 358 NHL games with him islanders and greasers.
Strome was also a well-liked player in the locker room. He hosted digital skits for the team’s social media channels and was one of the regulars taking on reporters, win or lose.
the athletic caught up with Strome last week to talk about his final season with the Rangers and his overall experience in New York.
A great colleague, leader and friend. The hard part of professional sports. you have a good one @AnaheimDucks. @strome18 https://t.co/lTA5TgvoiO
—Jacob Trouba (@JacobTrouba) July 14, 2022
His agent and the Rangers were working on a contract extension during the season, but then all went quiet. Did you have the feeling that he would take you to sign somewhere else?
I tried not to think about it, it’s kind of a cliché, but you really try to let your agent handle it, but if they really wanted to do it, there was a hint to close a deal without a problem. I felt like it was close enough at a point that it should have been done, but when it wasn’t, I was totally okay with it. We decided to put things off until the end of the season. When you take that risk, you understand that there’s a good chance you could go your separate ways. I felt like when it wasn’t done during the season, it wasn’t going to be done at all and I was totally okay with that. Just focus on the season. The exit meetings were a bit revealing, everyone had a feeling that it would be the end.
I made my intentions known, but I’m certainly happy with the way things turned out and I hope the Rangers are too.
You were traded to the Rangers shortly after “The Letter” came out. Now that the team is more contender, is it hard to walk away knowing that better days have finally arrived?
It’s a bit stinky. There were a lot of guys in the same situation, though: On any NHL team, there are really only a handful of guys who know they’re not going anywhere. The rest of the guys, there are uncertainties. I’ve said this before, the only thing that’s disappointing is not being able to see things. When I arrived in New York the team was not in the best moment, without winning games, looking to the future. I was one of the guys who was counted on to put that message out in the media every day, to stay positive and we knew the future was bright. Trying that this year was awesome, but not continuing that is a bit bitter. I give my best every night and that’s all you can do. Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing from the last four years.
You had a core muscle injury that hindered you in the playoffs. What was it like handling that aside from the knowledge that when it was all over, you probably wouldn’t be a Ranger anymore?
I was dealing with that for the second half of the season, I missed a few games in March and I remember after we won Game 7 against pittsburgh to be so happy but also to be like, “Shit, I’m so beat up right now.” I did my best. I had the respect of my teammates because it could have been easier to just not go ahead, take care of myself a little bit. But that’s not the way I looked at it. It was frustrating to have built the team for this season and this playoff run and be well below 50 percent health for the key part. But still it was a great trip.
What will you take away from your time with the Rangers?
I have been in New York for many of my 20s and there is a lot of pressure. Playing in a market like that challenged me as a person in many different ways. I got a lot better as a player, but I also learned how to handle the ups and downs of whatever happens in your career living in that kind of hectic environment. I imagine that on the west coast things will be much slower. I learned to deal with pressure, to block out what I didn’t need to hear. Playing in New York is a big challenge, but I tried to accept it with open arms. A lot of times you can shy away from things there, especially when the team isn’t doing well with the media and things like that, but I feel like I was asked to come out and show my face and I did.
I keep saying it, but there’s not much I’d change. Four years ago, if you had said it would end like this, I would take it all day. I would have loved to continue with my teammates and the bond we built, but going to Anaheim is going to be great for me and my family, I feel like I deserve a five-year deal and I’m happy the way it turned out.
The Ducks are one of the youngest teams in the league, as are the Rangers. Do you feel like your time with all the Rangers kids helped Anaheim look for a veteran?
Safely. I think I never tried to do something special. Going back to my days as an islander, I’ve always been surrounded by a lot of good veterans, good people, and I just tried to learn from them how to handle you and carry on with that. Just learn from all my ups and downs in my career; It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m grateful to have had so many different experiences in my career. Being able to provide a little bit of comic relief, just an ear for someone to talk, that’s a natural thing. I have been lucky enough to play with some good players and even better people. It’s just about gaining experience and I learned a lot in New York.
How will Artemi Panarin manage without you?
He will be good. He’s a great person, it’s hard to think of a guy I’ve played with and have a better bond with than him. You guys didn’t get to see him much these past two years, but he’s a good person. He really challenged me. I have been lucky enough to play with many good players, but having him by my side, pushing me to be better, was an experience that I never thought would happen. When we signed, I never thought that he would be my line partner for three years, that we would have career years playing together and that building that bond off the ice was even better.
With him and with all the Rangers guys, the best thing is our friendship, our bond is not defined by the team we play for. I’m still friends with most of the guys I played with on the Island and in Edmonton. It’s a bit sad not to be there yet, obviously, but we’ll be close.
Where do you see the Rangers going?
Any time you have a No. 1 goalkeeper, a No. 1 defender, a No. 1 centre, an innovative winger, you have a lot of the parts that teams can’t find. Hopefully they can find the right mix of guys to complement the core. Nothing is certain in the NHL, I think we all learned how hard it is to make the playoffs and win a game, but the ingredients are in place for those guys. They will be good and I will root for those guys, probably more from an individual standpoint than a team standpoint, but they have a bright future.
(Top photo: Kim Klement/USA Today)