Fantasy Take: Sprong Has Sprung in Vancouver

Ian Gooding

2024-07-20

The Vancouver Canucks have signed winger Daniel Sprong to a one-year contract worth $975,000.

At age 27, Sprong already fits the definition of a journeyman, as the Canucks will be his sixth NHL team. Sprong has reached over 40 points and double-digit power-play points in back-to-back seasons despite averaging no more than 12 minutes of icetime in either season. Sprong also finished with 2.8 PTS/60 in 2023-24, which was fourth on the Red Wings; and 3.7 PTS/60 in 2022-23, which was tops on the Kraken that season. He also consistently averages at least two shots per game, which helps his fantasy value.

Sprong's efficient production in relatively few minutes begs the question of why he does not receive more icetime. That is because Sprong is not considered a strong defensive player. The best-case scenario with this signing is that Sprong is exactly the top-6 winger that the Canucks need and has a career season. The worst-case scenario is that he ends up in Rick Tocchet's doghouse because of his defensive habits and never gets out, similar to Andrei Kuzmenko before he was traded to Calgary.

Daniel Sprong, signed 1x$1M by VAN, is an efficient scoring winger who creates scoring chances and goals at extremely high rates in depth minutes, but never seems to gain the trust of his coaches to move up the lineup. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/shpnX6BuJm
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 20, 2024

At even strength, Sprong could ideally find himself as the third winger beside J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser or beside Elias Pettersson and newly acquired Jake DeBrusk. Regular minutes on one of those lines could bump his icetime past the 15-minute mark for the first time in his career. If the Canucks retain the third line of Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua, and Conor Garland, which was highly effective in a shutdown role, Sprong could be used in a top-6 role. However, Sprong has been effective in limited minutes, so the Canucks could simply copy what other teams have done. Effectively sheltering Sprong will be key to making this signing work, which could continue to keep his icetime under the 15-minute mark.

The Canucks' top power play projects to be Pettersson, Miller, Boeser, DeBrusk, and Hughes, so Sprong seems more likely to appear on a second unit that could also feature Garland, Pius Suter, and either Joshua or Nils Hoglander. In the event of an injury to a top forward, Sprong seems like an ideal candidate to move up to the top unit.

Players this helps, in order:

Sprong

Elias Pettersson

J.T. Miller

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Players this hurts, in order:

Suter

Hoglander

Vasily Podkolzin

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Discuss the Sprong signing in this thread in the Forum.