Because the Rangers want to know what they’ve got, the plan was not to ease Ryan Strome into the mix.
Instead, the 25-year-old forward — obtained Friday in a swap with the Oilers for fellow underachiever Ryan Spooner — was back in a top-nine role for his second straight game when the Blueshirts played host to the Stars on Monday night.
It’s hard to dispute Strome’s talent, but there is a reason he has been traded twice since the Islanders took him with the No. 5 overall pick in 2011. And the Rangers are hoping the best way to get to know his makeup as a player is to let him play more than he was used to in Edmonton.