Daniel Sprong is heading back to familiar territory. The Canucks have traded him to the Kraken for future considerations. Despite showing promise over recent seasons, Sprong has struggled to find a stable home. In the 2022-23 season with Seattle, he had an impressive run, scoring 21 goals and 25 assists in 66 games, far surpassing his previous best of 23 points. Yet, Seattle chose not to offer him a qualifying deal worth $787.5K, avoiding arbitration.
In 2023’s free agency, Sprong managed to secure a one-year contract with Detroit for $2M. He proved his skills again by scoring 18 goals and assisting on 25 more in just 76 games while playing only about 12 minutes per game. But once more, he was left without a tender offer as Detroit also avoided arbitration risk. This time around, the market wasn’t kind; it took three weeks into free agency before Vancouver signed him for $975K—a significant pay cut—hoping he’d bolster their offense without much cap room.
Unfortunately , things didn’t pan out as Vancouver hoped. Sprong found himself benched three times already this season and when he did play, his performance dipped—only one goal and two assists across nine games with an average of nearly twelve minutes on ice each night. With Dakota Joshua expected back soon, Vancouver decided it was time for change while increasing their cap space to over $1.9M according to PuckPedia.
Canucks’ Strategy Shift:
Fans might think it’s surprising how quickly teams move on from players like Sprong despite past successes. Meanwhile in Seattle’s camp, they’re dealing with LTIR challenges but remain close enough under the $88M cap limit that adjustments should be manageable once Vince Dunn returns.
What do you think about these moves? Will they pay off or leave both teams wishing they’d chosen differently?
