Feb 19, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Daniel Sprong (17) high fives teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Seattle Kraken during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The Vancouver Canucks have had a great offseason. They lost both Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to the Boston Bruins but responded by locking up Jake DeBrusk to a long-term contract, bringing in Vincent Desharnais, and signing several depth players to fill out what they lost. They have easily improved from last season and their fans should be excited for what’s to come in the 2024-25 campaign. With most teams settling down from the free agent market and trading or focusing on the upcoming season with what they have, the Canucks went out and made another depth signing that may go down as one of the biggest steals of the offseason. The team went out and signed forward Daniel Sprong to a one-year contract worth $975,000, and he adds a solid presence to the Canucks’ bottom-six for a steal of a deal.
The Canucks were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, but they were able to take the series to seven games and almost take down the eventual Western Conference champions. After their playoff exit, they clearly had a goal in mind to come back stronger and make a deeper run with a better team. While they’re lined up to do just that, the Sprong signing may fly under the radar as one of the best signings this offseason. He is a strong offensive forward who can fill any role in their lineup if needed. While his defensive play may need work, he still provides strength in the sense that the Canucks will now have some more flexibility with their forward lines.
Sprong’s Offensive Production Creates Scary Canucks Depth
Last season, a lot of fans and analysts around the league had chalked up the Canucks as the team to beat in the West, and it was clear why as they dominated the regular season and went into the playoffs as favourites for the majority of their series. While the Oilers did defeat them, it was obvious they didn’t have problems between the pipes or any issues with their defensive depth, but rather a lack of offensive production from their bottom-six at times causing the team to collapse in Game 7. While they fought back and almost took Game 7 to overtime, the Oilers shut it down and snuck away with a victory. Adding Sprong, who is a proven point producer wherever he goes, should make that problem go away completely.
With elite forwards like Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser up front to take the responsibility for most of the offensive production, it will be a change of pace for the team to be able to rely on their depth players to provide scoring on a consistent basis. Sprong had 43 points through 76 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season and played a complex role where he fluctuated throughout their lineup and played where he was needed. Despite moving around and playing the majority of his time as a depth player, he still had a great offensive season.
With the Canucks, it’s safe to assume Sprong will start the season on their fourth line alongside Vasily Podkolzin and Pius Suter. Sprong is easily a middle-six forward in the NHL, but the Canucks’ forward depth pushes him down to the fourth line to start the season in my books. Despite that, he should still be able to create offensive production alongside a developing youngster in Podkolzin and an underrated two-way forward in Suter. At the end of the day, Canucks fans should be ecstatic about bringing in Sprong, and they should be excited about what’s to come in the 2024-25 campaign.
