Ryan Strome, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming summer, has a lot riding on this season.
It’s looking like the 28-year-old center may hit the free agent market for the first time in his career once the two-year contract he signed with the Rangers last November expires. After the signings of No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox to massive deals, in addition to an impending contract for Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers likely aren’t financially equipped to retain Strome.
There haven’t been any contract discussions between Strome’s camp and the Rangers to date, and, at the moment, there isn’t a plan to have any, The Post has learned. So Strome may have to treat this season as a showcase for his next prospective NHL team.
Strome had a rough start to the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Maple Leafs Thursday night in Toronto. After a stoppage in play early on in the second period, Strome wound up and bashed his stick into the boards in a fit of frustration.
The Rangers were only trailing by a goal at that point, but it was a tight game with both teams refusing to give the other an inch. Strome said after the fact that he didn’t like how he was playing early on, so he did what he could to wake himself up.
“I tried to get myself in the game, and I thought it worked,” said Strome, who has two goals and eight assists in 13 games. “I think the third period was my best period, and the team in general. Probably threw my weight around more than I have all year to try and get in there and create some turnovers and stir it up a little bit.
“You know, hockey is a tough game in the NHL. [The Maple Leafs] are a good team and sometimes you got to bump them around a little bit and try to create your own space.”
Strome ended up helping spearhead the Rangers’ comeback attempt in the final frame. He extended his point streak to five games, in which he’s scored one goal and dished five assists, with the primary helper on Dryden Hunt’s first goal in a Ranges uniform at 3:30 of the third period.
The assist marked the fifth time in Strome’s career that he’s had a point streak of five-plus games. His current streak is also the longest by a Ranger so far this season.
As the Rangers scrambled to notch a game-tying tally that ultimately never came, Strome got into it with the Maple Leafs’ Michael Bunting. The two players had to be separated by a referee, but the tiff served its purpose and lit an extra fire under the Rangers, who finished with 14 shots on goal in the final frame.
Strome, who was in COVID-19 protocol the last time the Rangers played in his native province, said playing at Scotiabank Arena, the building he grew up watching, never gets old. He added that he had around 100 friends and family in attendance and it was a reminder of just how lucky he is to be playing hockey.
That may have also factored into Strome’s added motivation.
“I thought I was a little bit dull at times, so personally just trying to get in there and try to get pissed off a little bit,” he said. “I thought I woke myself up a little bit, so happy with that.”