Cardiac Cane
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Five unqualified restricted free agents the Canes should sign

By Conor Power

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 07: General manager Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes prior to Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 07: General manager Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes prior to Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 02: Dylan Strome #17 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates scoring the game-tying goal in from of Jordan Martinook #48 and Brady Skjei #76 of the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on February 02, 2021, in Chicago, Illinois. The Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 02: Dylan Strome #17 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates scoring the game-tying goal in from of Jordan Martinook #48 and Brady Skjei #76 of the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on February 02, 2021, in Chicago, Illinois. The Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Dylan Strome

One player that Chicago opted not to qualify is center Dylan Strome. When I mentioned that Carolina like reclamation projects, this is who I had in mind. In 2015, Strome was taken third overall. A friendly reminder that 2015 was the McEichel year. He was the first non-obvious pick made, and there’s a reason for it. He has a lot of raw talent and it has been tapped into a little recently.

Since the change of coaching staff for the NHL team in the Windy City, Strome seems to have had a new lease on life. His painfully mediocre stats at the halfway mark of the season ended with 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in just 69 games. By no means is that a bad feat. That is a player that scores 50-60 points over 82 games. When I say Strome has a lot of room to grow, he’s got so much more to offer than this.

A centerman turned winger, working under a two-time Selke Winner would help his two-way game drastically. Not to say it is bad at this moment in time, but it could become other-worldly. Combine that with the ridiculous pedigree that he’s got to be a third overall pick that Arizona invested so highly in all that time ago and maybe you’ve got something going.

As an unqualified RFA, I do not know what to make of Strome. He’s going to sign somewhere. 48 points don’t just disappear from this league. Especially when there’s really nothing to talk about regarding Dylan Strome off the ice. He’s going to be a very sought-after individual. However, if there is a slim chance to buy low on the Mississaugua, Ontario native, why not do it?

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