The Seattle Kraken announced on Wednesday afternoon that forward Daniel Sprong has been placed on waivers, making him available to the Vancouver Canucks and the 30 other NHL teams for free.
Sprong, of course, played for the Canucks already this season, lasting nine games before being traded to the Kraken on Nov. 8 in exchange for... future considerations. Now, the Kraken, too, are giving Sprong away for virtually nothing.
Although defense has always been Sprong's Achilles heel at the NHL level, he has made a career for himself as a depth scoring option. In nine games in Vancouver, the 27-year-old recorded one goal, two assists, and three points, including the primary helper on Arshdeep Bains's first NHL goal on Oct. 26.
With Dakota Joshua on injured reserve, the Canucks have elected to call top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki up from the AHL to take his place. But, it's worth noting that the Canucks' depth scoring had dried up regardless.
Veteran center Teddy Blueger has one point in his last five games and has scored one goal since Nov. 23. Versatile forward Pius Suter has gone six straight games without a point and has gone 14 straight games without a goal. Winger Danton Heinen has one goal in his last 11 games.
This is all to say that, yes, the Canucks could use a fast player with some scoring chops in their bottom-six at a time like this. Plus, Elias Pettersson is a game-time decision for Wednesday night's game against Washington, so the Canucks are still not fully healthy up front.
The Canucks currently have under $600k in available cap space, so Lekkerimäki or another player, such as Erik Brannstrom or Guillaume Brisebois, will have to head down to the AHL to create the cap space needed to claim Sprong from Seattle.
Additionally, if the Canucks claim Sprong on waivers, they cannot trade him again this season without first offering him to the team(s), if applicable, that also put in a waiver claim for him. The Canucks already traded Sprong once, so this caveat is worth noting.