Caps Extend Strome

Just over six months ago, the Caps signed center Dylan Strome to a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent. On Friday morning, the team announced it has signed Strome to a five-year contract extension at an annual salary cap hit of $5 million.

In his first season with the Capitals, Strome is the team's third-leading scorer with 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists). With Nicklas Backstrom on injured reserve for the first half of this season, Strome's presence in the lineup helped mitigate the absence of its longtime franchise center, and with today's signing of Strome, the Caps have - in Strome, Backstrom and Kuznetsov - a trio of centers who are capable of playing top six minutes, all of whom are also proven power play performers.
With the signing of Strome, the Caps now have four centers under contract for next season and beyond, with the 25-year-old Strome as the youngest of the quartet. On Washington's NHL roster as of Friday morning, only defensemen Alex Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary are younger than Strome; both blueliners are 23.
Strome was the third player chosen overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, going to the Arizona Coyotes with that pick. He got his first taste of the NHL as a teenager with the Coyotes in 2016-17 and has played in the League continuously since 2018-19, the season in which he was swapped to Chicago in a deal for Nick Schmaltz on November 25, 2018.
After four seasons in Chicago, the Blackhawks chose not to give Strome a qualifying offer last summer, making him a free agent and sparking a brief but spirited bidding war for his services. Washington won that battle with a one-year deal worth $3.5 million, plus the opportunity to play with the legendary Alex Ovechkin. Strome has assisted on eight of Ovechkin's 32 goals this season, playing with the Great Eight on the power play and centering for him for a total of nearly 400 minutes at 5-on-5 as well. Strome has been Ovechkin's most frequent center at 5-on-5 this season.
"They were one of the teams that showed the most interest on the first day of free agency," said Strome when training camp got underway in September. "And it was something that I really wasn't expecting to go through, having a pretty good year last year numbers-wise and being a restricted free agent, and then finding out four or five days before that I was going to be unrestricted.
"It was something that just turned around really quick, and then Washington showed some interest and it seemed like a great fit. They have lots of guys that love to score goals and some great playmakers. I think this team is poised for a long run, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm happy to be here, and I'm excited."
"He's a guy that for me can play both positions," said Caps coach Peter Laviolette of Strome, just ahead of the start of the season. "I really like that. Even with Nick off to the side for now, it could put five center men in our lineup, and I always like that because when a center man goes down, now you have someone who can naturally move around and it's just a little bit easier to replace a wing."
Strome has played mostly center this season but has played left wing on occasion as well. He has meshed well with his new teammates on and off the ice, and has enjoyed playing in D.C. enough to re-sign with the Capitals.
Strome's signing continues a recurrent personnel theme for Washington, which has had a great deal of success at bringing players in from other organizations via trade or free agency, and then re-signing those players to longer term deals once they've spent some time in the organization and have gotten a taste of the team's culture and its day-to-day operation. Over the past several seasons, that list of players includes the likes of Brett Connolly, Pheonix Copley, Brenden Dillon, Nic Dowd, Lars Eller, Carl Hagelin, Matt Irwin, Nick Jensen, Michal Kempny, T.J. Oshie, Conor Sheary and Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Since Ovechkin signed his second NHL contract - a 13-year deal - in January of 2008, either he or John Carlson (or both) have had the distinction of being the Capital with the longest contract term going forward. Entering this season, Ovechkin and Carlson shared the distinction, with both being signed through the 2025-26 season.
As of today, that distinction now belongs to Strom, who is the only Capitals player signed through the 2027-28 NHL season.