Ryan Strome, the newest Ranger, acquired Friday from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade for Ryan Spooner, had just played his first game for the Rangers, a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden, and here he was, being interviewed in the postgame locker room, and he couldn’t seem to stop smiling. He had to be just giddy with exhaustion, given the emotional and physical whirlwind he’d just experienced over the previous 30 or so hours.
The 6-1, 194-pound forward had just finished practice Friday with his Edmonton Oilers team, and was preparing to head south for a battle with provincial rival Calgary when he was told he’d been traded.