I'm not quite sure what you mean here. Sprong has been an "everyday" player with a few healthy scratches here and there. He played 76 games last season and 66 the year before. It really comes down to how you want your team to play and what you want out of him. If you want an energy type grinder who is hard to play against in all 3 zones that's not him. If you want a top 6 player who can play a 200 foot game that's not him. He's not a long term top 6 fit because he doesn't score enough to outproduce his defensive deficieinces. If you want someone to produce offensively 5 v 5 playing on the 4th line (given his defensive struggles) that's him.
I do think Sprong is what he is. He's there to produce offensively on the 4th line. When he isn't producing his coach is going to want to scratch him.
Otherwise, ya I'm fine with starting Raty too. He has certainly earned the right to be considered for a spot.
#1 how are you awake and posting at this time?
#2 thus far I don’t think Sprong has shown that he’s a gong show defensively. I think that is the most important thing (but it’s super early)
If they can get Sprong to the point where he’s not a liability in the d-zone (which is a huge task) then he should be a staple in the lineup.
I listened to a Tocchet interview recently where he interviewed Sprong before the signing and asked him why he thought his defensive play was so poor and whatever Sprong said, Tocchet seemed comfortable that it could be improved upon.
I think it was something like 7 coached in 7 seasons. Not getting enough time / coaching to learn the defensive systems and understand his assignments…
Anyways…more than anything from this pre-season as it pertains to Sprong, the most important thing for me is that his d-zone play has been adequate.
He has not shown himself to be a huge liability.
