Things couldn't have started much better for Daniel Sprong in Vancouver, as he scored the Canucks' first goal of the 2024-25 campaign. Since giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead versus the Calgary Flames however, things have taken a turn for the worse for the 27-year-old.
Sprong's first two regular season appearances for the Canucks, were notable for him only averaging 10:39 of ice time. (And don't forget this included 1:33 and 5:00 minutes respectively of overtime.) For some context, his NHL career average is 11:56 of ice time per contest in 346 games.
At least Sprong was playing though, albeit the emphasis on was. That's because he has now sat out the last two games versus the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, as a healthy scratch.
Early going for the Canucks
Now we appreciate these are extremely early days, with head coach Rick Tocchet being forced to tinker with the lineup to discover what works. That's what happens when you lose your first three games of the 2024-25 campaign, before finally getting a 3-2 overtime victory on Thursday night against the Panthers.
As part of Tocchet's search for answers, this has included Kevin Lankinen getting the nod over Artūrs Šilovs for the matchup with the reigning Stanley Cup champions. In addition, offseason acquisition Vincent Desharnais was a healthy scratch against the Flyers and Lightning.
Both Šilovs and Desharnais are expected to be regular contributors in 2024-25 -- particularly the former -- but Tocchet's early decisions involving both, prove that he is prepared to take whatever gambles he deems necessary as he looks to find a winning formula. Which brings us back to Sprong.
Sprong takes a risk
The 2015 second round draft pick essentially took a gamble on himself, when he signed his one-year, $975,000 deal with the Canucks. He had been previously projected by AFP Analytics, to get a contract worth around three years and $12.276 million.
Now yes, you can make the case that Sprong agreed his deal with the Canucks due to a lack of offers from other teams, but we firmly believe he would have eventually received a higher offer from someone. Instead, he decided to gamble on himself, prove his worth and earn a better deal next offseason.
Unfortunately for the former Pittsburgh Penguin, this gamble is not paying off in the early going. As alluded to with a -2 rating from his first two games, issues with his defensive game are in play.
This is nothing new. As we previously wrote, Sprong has never been particularly dependable at the defensive end of the ice, which probably at least partly explains why the Canucks are his sixth NHL team in nine seasons.
If nothing else, at least Sprong is now under a head coach who can help him with his defensive play. At the same time however, making him a healthy scratch in two of the first four games of the season shows that Tocchet won't put up with any BS.
Overall, we remain convinced that Sprong will play a big role for the Canucks, as a regular contributor in the bottom six. However, this means overcoming some early adversity and displaying mental fortitude, in order to prove his worth to this team.