Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign F Daniel Sprong to 1-Year Deal ($975K)

[Canucks LB]

Love ya LB but you’re just wrong here

I’ve been waiting so long for you to finally give me your undying love

And all seriousness, I guess we’re gonna see after the season, should be fun

 

[TruGr1t]

plus aman and a few others i guess.

Aman will do it if you don’t add anyone else. About $16K left with a 23-man roster and PDG, Juulsen and Friedman as extras.

 

[David71]

Aman will do it if you don’t add anyone else. About $16K left with a 23-man roster and PDG, Juulsen and Friedman as extras.

i dont they theyre adding anymore forwards. too many. it will likely be addition by subtraction.

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

My guess right now -

Heinen - Miller - Boeser
Sprong - Pettersson - DeBrusk
Joshua - Blueger - Garland
Sherwood - Suter - Hoglander
PDG

That’s a pretty slick four line setup.

I am pretty excited to see this line if we do get to see it. Hoggy and Sherwood can run wild because Suter is so reliable defensively.

 

[Donuts]

good signing

last playoffs canucks lack depth, start of this year, on paper canucks are deep in forwards and throughout the year and tdl, allvin probably will upgrade some more as needed

 

[TruGr1t]

My guess right now -

Heinen - Miller - Boeser
Sprong - Pettersson - DeBrusk
Joshua - Blueger - Garland
Sherwood - Suter - Hoglander
PDG

That’s a pretty slick four line setup.

Being pedantic, you have Sprong and DeBrusk on the wrong sides, and I think Suter has the 3C spot locked, he’s better than Blueger and should be an upgrade for Joshua/Garland. Sprong does lock Suter into a C spot, imo.

One reason Sprong probably has inside on a top six spot is he’s a natural RW.

 

[bossram]

surprised that Sprong can only get like a 1 year sub 1M contract after back to back 40+ point seasons. Have to wonder if that how much Hog will be valued if he becomes a 40ish point scorer.

It's more than the points. Basically no coach in his career has trusted him, and it's because his defensive play and forechecking effort is below replacement level.

I've said elsewhere that I don't think Hoglander has much value either. He's a small, low/no defensive utility, mid-tier scoring forward. We see these guys routinely be regarded poorly.

If a team was looking at Hoglander, they could also throw a league minimum deal at Yamamoto and pretty much get the same output.

 

[ephmrl]

Love it.

Essentially Kuzmenko at 975k.

If he can bring his defensive game up to a passable level and play top 6 he can definitely hit 35-40 goals. Worst case he’s able to provide elite offense from the 4th line.

The good news is that if there’s any player who can hold Sprong accountable on the ice it’s JT Miller. Tocchet, Allvin, and Rutherford all have history with the player so they know what they’re getting, both good and bad.

Loving the way our forward group has been assembled this offseason. Our depth is significantly better.

 

[LuckyBoeser]

Our forward group has lots of versatility. Two tandems in Miller/Boeser and Pettersson/DeBrusk with players like Heinen, Suter, Sprong, and Hoglander that can all play up and down the lineup. Able to play third wheel on those lines. Maybe Sherwood too. It will be interesting to see if Joshua-Blueger-Garland can retain their chemistry. Overall, very excited to see how our lines look in the Fall.

 

[Bleach Clean]

Nice to have another right shot forward, we were lacking on that side.

You called it.

They were going to do something this offseason. Roster was not set. It was one part handedness, one part goal scoring and perhaps laying the groundwork for a future forward+ trade.

I've seen @Vector post about goals in and out, and I had similarly considered points in and out earlier on (not posted). If you compare DeBrusk, Heinen and Sherwood against Lindholm (both CGY and here), Mikheyev and Lafferty, it's pretty even in terms of points in and out. Further, a downgrade going from Zadorov-Cole to Forbort-Desharnais (just for points). So it seems like a 'push' overall. That begins to change with additions like Sprong. Who himself is a clear points upgrade on Podkolzin (on paper).

Now, they have a base whereby they can move ahead on chemistry or on paper totals (or both). It better ensures their scoring floor.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Sprong is 17th in the whole league in points scored per 60 mins played the last two years playing 4th line mins?

Seems like a mental case in the D zone but hey, not easy to get potential 25-30 goal scorers out there for less than a mil.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Curious what number he picks here

He’s worn so many, and not really a consistent theme to it at all.

Wore 10 in Washington, 91 in Seattle - then chose 88 in Detroit until Kane arrived and changed to 17. And I don’t think he wore any of those in Anaheim or Pittsburgh.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

$975k? LMAO. WOW.

 

[BluesyShoes]

Allvin was just waiting for the round thing in his face.

She must have obliged.

Let’s just hope baby got backcheck

 

[Jyrki]

Sprong is 17th in the whole league in points scored per 60 mins played the last two years playing 4th line mins?

Seems like a mental case in the D zone but hey, not easy to get potential 25-30 goal scorers out there for less than a mil.

He scored 46 points in 66 games playing only 11 mins/game and 32 were at ES, even if he was getting soft minutes that's an insane pace. Interested to see if Tocchet can get him to play more responsibly while keeping up production.

 

[Josepho]

gonna predict he wears 97 and makes a lot of boomers angry

 

[Lindgren]

I do appreciate Alvin's timing. We needed something to talk about, and he didn't disappoint.

The next move should come a couple of days after August 11, when the Olympics end (Poolman out, please). Then we'll need something around the end of August to distract us from the inevitable, apocalyptic, choking brown haze in the sky, and soon after it's the Young Stars Classic.

 

[VanJack]

In a league that supposedly values depth scoring, Sprong had 21 goals and 25 assists with Seattle in 2002-23 and 18 goals and 25 assists with the Wings last season. And the Canucks acquired his services for under $1m a season. Ridiculous.

I mean his production, relative to the limited minutes he gets, is off the charts. But so far, since he was drafted, he's plied his trade in Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Washington, Seattle, Detroit and now Vancouver. Why? I guess we're about to find out.

Maybe Tocchet is the guy who'll be able to 'unlock' his defensive potential. But he also tried with Kuzmenko, and we know how that turned out.

Yet I suppose a 'one-year, show me' deal means there's minimal risk.

 

[The Stig]

I hope he wears 89 because it's awesome

 

[arttk]

I hope he wears 89 because it's awesome

69 or bust

 

[vancityluongo]

love this signing

as others have said, he replaces hoglander in the lineup and allows the canucks to use hog as a piece for a defenseman. worst case, you waive sprong if he can't stick and it doesn't matter. best case, he fits with petey the way kuzmenko did.

would've been happy with giving him an extra year at a slightly higher average just to make it more of a suter contract, but then you lose the flexibility of waiving him if he sucks.

absolutely thrilled with how the forward group is looking.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Who all out of our forwards doesn't require clearing waivers to go to Abby?

I really think its still to early to lose either Pods or Hogs for nothing. I keep hoping Pods in particular will pick it up. I mean, in reality, he's been unlucky. Keeps hitting posts. both of them are only 23. I believe neither would clear waivers.

 

[mriswith]

Tocchet's going to hate him.

He dethrones Hog as whipping boy in waiting

People are talking about dumping Hog which is logical, but I think this means Pod gets cut.

 

[VanJack]

Could be the Canucks aren't done. They might be packaging one or two of their young forwards for an upgrade, either at center or on the blueline.

 

[ziploc]

I think you probably attach Hogs or Podz to Poolman to move that contract, and maybe pick up Kylington for cheap, then see how things roll. There will be cap space to spare potentially for an in-season upgrade on the blueline.