It was about a month and a half ago that the Edmonton Oilers traded away Jordan Eberle, a player that had been with the team for seven seasons. In exchange, Edmonton received Ryan Strome, a player that had been with the New York Islanders since he entered the league earlier this decade. Looking ahead to the 2017/18 season, the change in scenery gives Eberle the chance to reset in a different setting after facing some criticism with Edmonton recently. For what the trade means for Strome, we can look at recent comments he made as he recently spoke with reporters on Oilers TV.
Strome likes being with a contender
The recent interview with Strome was posted to the Oilers TV Youtube account on August 4th. One reporter with TSN 1260 asked Strome if his "first thought" after getting traded was "Wow! I get to play with Connor Mcdavid." Strome answered in the negative, maybe because NHLers aren't as star struck as reporters, and instead focused on the whole team perspective. He said he was "excited to come to a team that (he thinks) is really close to winning," something certainly McDavid would be a part of. Strome also claimed that he followed the Oilers during the playoffs and felt that they were "quite the team." His following of Edmonton would have been in the middle of the spring, when the Oilers were battling with the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks.
Strome speaks about Oilers' buzz around NHL
Over the course of his interview, Strome made an interesting remark. As a player that wasn't a part of the Oilers during their playoff run, he was privy to inter-player gossip involving non-Oilers. Strome claimed that he talked to players that played Edmonton in the playoffs and that they were "blown away" by how good the Oilers were.
Strome didn't want to name names regarding who made those comments, but they would likely be players on the Sharks or Ducks.
Strome is a forward with 258 games in the NHL, all as a member of the New York Islanders. He has almost averaged a half point per game over the course of his career. He brings some postseason experience to the Oilers as he was a part of two Islanders' teams that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
Last season the Islanders missed the playoffs and Strome didn't have his best season either. He had 30 points in 69 games for a 0.43 points-per-game average. That's a little low for a forward in the NHL. The lowlight of the season was a broken wrist that he suffered in March, which ended his season.
