Ryan Strome and the Rangers have agreed to a two-year, $9M extension, per the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, before a scheduled Thursday arbitration hearing.
The 27-year-old Strome had asked for $5.7M per season while the team was seeking a $3.6M salary. He will be an unrestricted free agent when the deal expires after the 2021-22 NHL season.
Since coming over from the Oilers, Strome has scored 36 goals in 133 regular season games for the Rangers. The 2019-20 season was his best with 18 goals and 59 points. That production was boosted playing on a line with Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin.
Strome won’t be winning the Selke Trophy anytime soon, but he’s shown an ability to produce in a secondary scoring role. Playing with Panarin and Jesper Fast this past season helped a Rangers offense that will be adding top pick Alexis Lafreniere to its top nine.
After Ryan Strome, what’s next for GM Jeff Gorton?
Now that Strome is signed there are two scheduled arbitration hearings remaining, one including a Ranger. Brendan Lemieux is set for Friday, while Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar has one Sunday. For Lemieux, he is asking for a one-year, $2M deal while the team is seeking two-years, $2.025M.
Tyler Bertuzzi of the Red Wings is the only player so far to have his contract awarded by an arbitrator.
Following Strome’s deal, the Rangers have a little over $6.3M in cap space and only Lemieux to re-sign. Once that’s taken care of Gorton’s offseason to-do list is pretty complete.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.