In a move which was initially speculated about by the Canucks Army's Michael Liu and first reported by Patrick Johnston of The Province, Daniel Sprong has signed with the Vancouver Canucks. It became official when the team confirmed the deal on social media.
What's surprising about the contract is both the term and amount, for one year and $975,000. Considered one of the more intriguing options in free agency, AFP Analytics had projected Sprong to sign a deal for three years and $12.276 million.
While we appreciate after three weeks of free agency, that the demand apparently wasn't there for the 27-year-old, he was still worth more than what he signed for. Surely he would have gotten it with some more patience, albeit maybe not for as much as AFP Analytics' annual projection of $4.092 million.
As such, it would appear Sprong has effectively decided to bet on himself, by signing a ridiculously team-friendly deal with the Canucks. Sure it's a risky gamble -- is there any other kind? -- but one which he has an excellent chance of turning to his advantage further down the road (ice).
A win-win scenario for both player and team
The 2015 second round draft pick gets to join a team which is on the rise, coming off their third-best regular season in franchise history and having at least consolidated, if not outright improved, their roster. And the Canucks get a player who has all kinds of assets which should prove extremely useful during the 2024-25 campaign.
The first asset which stands out is Sprong's scoring ability, which is better than you should often dare expect from a bottom-six player. He took a while to get going in the NHL, but he scored a career-best 21 goals during his 2022-23 campaign with the Seattle Kraken, and followed this up with another 18 this past season while in Detroit with the Red Wings.
On top of this, the winger has become an all around offensive threat, with 25 assists in each of his past two seasons. Also an excellent skater, he seems to have finally found the consistency which previously eluded him, particularly impressive when considering his lack of average ice time. (11:25 in 2022-23 and 12:00 minutes in 2023-24.)
Sprong's one Achilles heel
Sprong does also provide a backup option on special teams if and when necessary. The main thing which goes against him, is he isn't particularly dependable at the defensive end of the ice, which probably at least partly explains why he's now on his sixth NHL team heading into his ninth season.
Now we appreciate this is something which could vex Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, who is all about defence. At the same time though, you'd like to think general manager Patrik Allvin will have at least discussed Sprong with Tocchet and gotten a favourable response, before going ahead with the signing.
Despite his lack of strength defensively, the Amsterdam, Netherlands native is still an excellent overall addition for the Canucks. It's not exactly a gamble signing someone with his talent level to join the bottom-six, especially for one year and under $1 million. (Which still keeps the organisation under the salary cap and with a full 23-man roster, albeit only $15,833 of cap space, as per PuckPedia.)
As mentioned, the gamble comes on Sprong's side, with him looking to prove he's worth more money and longer term this time in a year when he's negotiating his next deal. And who knows, if things go as planned for him, he might even re-sign in Vancouver for multiple years and finally find a home, rather than another stop gap in his continuing tour of NHL teams.