Sprong had a Lucky year? Put him with Wennberg and another winger like Burakovsky and you'd see 30-35 goals!Besides none of Sprong goals were Lucky they were all top flight goals except for one or two that went in off his "fanny"
That is not how it always works. I would argue the opposite that Sprong's defensive liabilities would have a negative influence on offensive zone time against tougher competition. He played on a team with insane forward depth and reaped the benefit of playing against lesser competition thanks to the quality of his linemates.
The Kraken probably will need to replace Soucy and Jones and Donato possibly! Geekie becomes trade bait if Wright shows up and plays like he should and can. Evans replaces Soucy? Not sure he's quite ready for regular NHL duty though he has played well in the AHL his rookie year! I'd give him another year in the A with the hope he becomes an ALL-Star and then move to the SHOW! As for Jones, I'd have to say thank-you for saving the Kraken season when the team needed it! He may be too expensive but you never know perhaps he comes back? Stezka was signed and Daccord is making a name for himself to be the Back up in Seattle! 6-4 Stezka was already drafted(Minny)and is a veteran goaltender who could surprise people!And he's signed to a one year deal that is pretty cheap(870 G)!As for Donato he may have run into the numbers game and he's better than a 4th liner! He can become a regular 20 goal scorer if he gets top 9 minutes and some PP time! Always liked his speed and he's a team guy!Geekie is not much of a scorer though he's become better on the Dot!He's versatile too but with Wright having to make the team next year(unless there is a reclassification of the rules) there are some questions there the team(GMFrancis,Hakstol and Co.) need to ask themselves? But first priority is getting Dunn signed to a deal and probably a long term deal(6-8 years)6-7-8 Million per?Gru makes the most(5.9 M) for another 4 years and there are others(Eberle,Burakovsky,McCann and Schwartz) making 5.5 M and Bjorkstand) making 5.4 M! And Larsson needing a big(4 M to 6 M) raise in two years time! A lot of questions and some answers but some will dealt with sooner rather than later I imagine
We do not need a backup IF Driedger is at 100% health to start the season. There is no need to sign a 3rd goalie if that is the case. And in that case, like most teams, you depend on calling up a goalie from the Cuda. Alternatively, if the team does not have faith in Driedger, you try to see if Daccord is willing to sign a 1-way contract and hope that Driedger is picked up on waivers or just deal with the cap repercussions of him playing there.
You have now bought up both Donato and Sprong as top-9 players. Maybe so but they are unlikely to play a role like that on a team that is hoping for a deep playoff run. I am less opposed to bringing Donato back than Sprong, but it needs to be in a 4th line role.
I would be very surprised if Dunn is not re-signed. However, if he is looking for upwards of 7.5M AAV, I can see Francis balking and just looking to move him before the draft. Same with Borgen but for AAV, not over 3.5M AAV. Our roster will be set for next season after the D re-signings.
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Burakovsky
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Tanev-?-?
Dunn-Larsson
Schultz-Oleksiak
Megna/Evans-Borgen
Evans/Megna
Grubi
Driedger
Daccord - sign if there is not much faith in Driedger, Stetzka or any other AHL goalie
For that 4th line we have:
Kartye - ELC (very likely to start season on the Kraken)
Geekie - RFA (re-sign)
Donato - UFA (re-sign)
Wright - ELC (I am still not sure if he is ready for full time NHL minutes)
Other AHL prospect - ELC/RFA
If the team wants to improve itself, what they need is a quality top-4 D to push Schultz or Oleksiak down the roster. Unless we can pull that off in a trade, that may be too expensive.
In my mind, a healthy Driedger is still a better option than Jones or an unknown FA goalie signing.