Report: Five teams linked to Dylan Strome in trade talks

According to a report from Chicago Blackhawks insider Ben Pope, there are nearly half a dozen teams sniffing around forward forward Dylan Strome in trade talks.

The 24 year old Strome has yet to play a game this season, having been made a healthy scratch by head coach Jeremy Colliton for four consecutive games. As Pope reports, coach Colliton and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman have both been pressed by the media as to why Strome hasn't been put into the lineup and both coach and GM are being tight lipped about the situation. All of this has lead to speculation that Strome will be traded sooner rather than later.

“What we talk to him [about is]...he’s got to practice hard, prepare to play,” Colliton said earlier this week when asked if Strome will slot in for injured AHL call up Mike Hardman. “That’s what he can do. And then the lineup, that’s up to us. [We’ve] got to figure out daily what we think is our best chance to win. That’s it.”

To me, that sounds like a player and a coach who aren't exactly on the same page. So... what's next?

In Pope's latest column for the Chicago Sun-Times, he names Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers all as team's that have either expressed interest in Strome or whom have explicitly engaged in trade negotiations to acquire him. 

From Pope:

Bowman has been casually shopping Strome since the spring, and there’s no shortage of well-matched suitors. The Ducks have long been interested in him as a young playmaker who could aid their rebuild. The Senators were previously connected to him. The Canadiens, Wild and Rangers need center help and would all make sense; going to the Rangers, for example, would unite him with his older brother, Ryan.

Ben Pope - Chicago Sun Times

As Pope points out, these trade talks go back to the Spring but, for whatever reason, Bowman still has not pulled the trigger on a deal. Had he swung a deal in the offseason, the team wouldn't be forced to deal with the mess that they're in, but it seems that Bowman is patient enough to wait for an appropriate return for Strome. While it's clear that Strome's time may indeed be done in Chicago, he's still a skilled player with significant pedigree. You have to imagine that there's a deal out there to be made.