Speculation: Daniel Sprong

The Great Mighty Poo

I don't like you either.
Feb 21, 2020
6,244
6,437
Why is this guy still sitting as a free agent on July 8th? The guy is 27 years old he's got back to back 40+ point seasons he seems like the perfect depth scorer for a contender.

It's crazy that he's sitting out there on July 8th, a full week after free agency
Probably to busy stealing visors from pro shops at the local public rinks.

....yes he did this in Wilkes-Barre.
 

dtown77

Registered User
Dec 29, 2005
306
210
Because he is streaky, and when he is not scoring he is a liability.
 

Gurglesons

Registered User
Dec 18, 2009
96,319
78,246
Joshua Tree, CA
last-train-tocool.blogspot.com
He's played for five teams in basically six years of being at the NHL.

He's reportedly has attitude issues since day one.

I imagine there is something about his personality that rubs people the wrong way.

I also see him going to Edmonton or Vegas on a cheap deal and he's probably trying to get paid right now.
 

Jumptheshark

Rebooting myself
Oct 12, 2003
100,938
14,812
Somewhere on Uranus
Why is this guy still sitting as a free agent on July 8th? The guy is 27 years old he's got back to back 40+ point seasons he seems like the perfect depth scorer for a contender.

It's crazy that he's sitting out there on July 8th, a full week after free agency
He priced himself out of what teams are wiling to pay. Contenders won't touch him. 2 seasons of getting easy ice time on bad teams won't translate the same on playing on good teams
 
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LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
47,409
16,043
He's played for five teams in basically six years of being at the NHL.

He's reportedly has attitude issues since day one.

I imagine there is something about his personality that rubs people the wrong way.

I also see him going to Edmonton or Vegas on a cheap deal and he's probably trying to get paid right now.

Assuming they stay healthy Edmonton already has the best forward group in the league I'm not even sure where he'd play.
 
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RogerRoger

Registered User
Jul 23, 2013
5,344
3,128
No coach wants the worst defensive forward in the league.
I can respect only wanting to score and not giving a f*** about anything else, I really want to see his absurd points total in a Euro league.
 

KrisLetAngry

MrJukeBoy
Dec 20, 2013
19,229
5,421
Saskatchewan
Hoping he would get a big deal. I imagine teams are offering 1 year 1 million deals and he thinks he deserves more because of his back to back 40 point seasons.

The thing is a team needs depth scoring with a slot on a secondary Power play where they play the power play enough. Then they have to try and give his line more o zone starts.

His offense is amazing and he has an amazing shot. Thing is there Is 2 sides of the ice. He's a blackhole defensively.
 

BKarchitect

Registered User
Oct 12, 2017
8,197
14,666
Kansas City, MO
I’m not sure “good teams” are clamoring for this sort of depth. Seems more likely he will once again end up on a bad or rebuilding team that just needs offense from somewhere, anywhere.

Good teams that roll with very structured and role-oriented bottom six lines won’t have much use for him unless they are deep, deep in an injury crisis or just have an extra forward spot they can carry on a one-way and utilize as needed.
 

The Great Mighty Poo

I don't like you either.
Feb 21, 2020
6,244
6,437
Cant be bothered to pick up his phone, too busy stealing the entire stock of face shields from his local rink, even though as a professional athlete with an endorsement deal, he can probably get them for free, or simply just buy them.
 

Heffyhoof

So happy to be glad to be pleased to meet you.
Jan 17, 2016
1,762
2,927
Probably to busy stealing visors from pro shops at the local public rinks.

....yes he did this in Wilkes-Barre.
As someone who worked in a sports store, lol. I guess it's only an issue when slightly rich people do it though :laugh:
 

The Marquis

Moderator
Aug 24, 2020
6,886
4,668
Washougal, WA
I have a very good friend who is Dutch and I asked him about Sprong last year when the Kraken didn't sign him to a new deal. His response was much more about Dutch culture than about the guy himself. He said that Dutch people tend to be stereotyped as rude, or as assholes for reasons that are in direct conflict with the way Canadian's specifically are stereotyped as some of the nicest people on the planet. Dutch people are direct, have no filter whatsoever, are brutally honest about themselves and others. The Dutch are confident, but private at the same time and that can lead to a stereotype that they are arrogant and cold. Quite in conflict with the Canadian warmth. I don't see Canadian's being seen as particularly confident either (sorry... I don't mean I'm sorry, I mean... sorry, sorry, sorry lol), but American's can definitely come across as confident assholes lol.

The Dutch can also tend to be unaware of the filters that others use. I've seen this in my friendship with him. He often doesn't read what I'm saying when I'm applying filters to my thoughts. He's like "that's not how things are". Flat out, and it comes off as a bit rude to me, but I've learned to understand that he's just being direct and expects that of others as well. Filtering thoughts and opinions is very common amongst Americans and Canadians and as such, we tend to read into things, the Dutch typically don't read into things in the same way because there's no reason to in their culture.

I think when it comes to Sprong, he could very well be an asshole, but he's also the ONLY Dutch player in the league, and as such, a cultural anomaly in a sport filled with Canadians who are quite culturally different than him. He's more than likely misunderstood.
 

Marc the Habs Fan

Moderator
Nov 30, 2002
99,869
11,713
Longueuil
I’m not sure “good teams” are clamoring for this sort of depth. Seems more likely he will once again end up on a bad or rebuilding team that just needs offense from somewhere, anywhere.

Good teams that roll with very structured and role-oriented bottom six lines won’t have much use for him unless they are deep, deep in an injury crisis or just have an extra forward spot they can carry on a one-way and utilize as needed.
I could see him in Florida in the same role Tarasenko filled with Lundell and Luostarinen, I think it depends on each team's situation.

But something definitely seems to be up here beyond just looking at a stat sheet. The Kraken did not even tender him a QO last summer when they had the cap space to fit in his arbitration award and their 4th line scoring plenty of goals was a significant reason why they were a 100 point team in 2022-23. Detroit sat him in many crucial games in April even with his strong production. And now he remains a UFA.
 
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Turin

Erik Karlsson is good
Feb 27, 2018
24,026
28,454
He’s an idiot with no hockey sense and you’re completely short handed defensively when he’s on the ice. He does however have a good shot. He’s allergic to the boards. So coaches nightmare.

He’s like Laine if Laine was 100x more arrogant/confident but was worse at everything besides skating.
 

Vector

Moderator
Feb 2, 2007
27,712
47,114
Junktown
I have a very good friend who is Dutch and I asked him about Sprong last year when the Kraken didn't sign him to a new deal. His response was much more about Dutch culture than about the guy himself. He said that Dutch people tend to be stereotyped as rude, or as assholes for reasons that are in direct conflict with the way Canadian's specifically are stereotyped as some of the nicest people on the planet. Dutch people are direct, have no filter whatsoever, are brutally honest about themselves and others. The Dutch are confident, but private at the same time and that can lead to a stereotype that they are arrogant and cold. Quite in conflict with the Canadian warmth. I don't see Canadian's being seen as particularly confident either (sorry... I don't mean I'm sorry, I mean... sorry, sorry, sorry lol), but American's can definitely come across as confident assholes lol.

The Dutch can also tend to be unaware of the filters that others use. I've seen this in my friendship with him. He often doesn't read what I'm saying when I'm applying filters to my thoughts. He's like "that's not how things are". Flat out, and it comes off as a bit rude to me, but I've learned to understand that he's just being direct and expects that of others as well. Filtering thoughts and opinions is very common amongst Americans and Canadians and as such, we tend to read into things, the Dutch typically don't read into things in the same way because there's no reason to in their culture.

I think when it comes to Sprong, he could very well be an asshole, but he's also the ONLY Dutch player in the league, and as such, a cultural anomaly in a sport filled with Canadians who are quite culturally different than him. He's more than likely misunderstood.

 
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Henkka

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
32,348
13,358
Tampere, Finland
He's played for five teams in basically six years of being at the NHL.

And he will play for 6th team in 7 years.

Don't think there's nothing wrong in his personality. Plays just weak defence, and many coaches will hate that.

Someone will sign him. It's just the bargain waiting period.
 

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