Coming off back-to-back 40+ point seasons, Daniel Sprong was not expecting to be sitting at home in mid-July, still an unrestricted free agent.
Sprong may not have been in the first tier of scoring wingers available on the market but he could have reasonably expected teams to start calling once they struck out on the likes of Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel, and Tyler Toffoli. After all, he actually had three more points last season than the Canucks’ prized free agent acquisition, Jake DeBrusk, who signed a seven-year deal worth $5.5 million per year.
But despite conversations with a few teams, nothing materialized.
“It was a little hectic the first two days,” said Sprong on Monday. “I think my camp and I had an idea of what we were looking for and that kind of didn’t really happen on the first two days. In the business, you want to be off the market the first couple of days; after that, it quiets down.”
This isn’t how his free agency was supposed to go. Contract projections predicted a contract for Sprong worth $3-4 million per year but it wasn’t just about the money. After playing for five different teams over the last six seasons, Sprong was hoping he could find a long-term home.
Instead, Sprong put pen to paper on a discount deal for just one year, signing with the Vancouver Canucks for $975,000. But again, money wasn’t the key issue.
“Things kind of took a turn and I just thought the biggest thing was for me to be in a situation where I could be happy and would be a good opportunity for me,” said Sprong.
That’s the key for Sprong: opportunity.
"The decision was a no-brainer"
Despite scoring like a top-six forward over the past two seasons, Sprong wasn’t deployed like one. Instead, he played sheltered minutes largely in a fourth-line role for both the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings. For Sprong, Vancouver represents not only an opportunity to potentially play in the top-six with some elite linemates but also the opportunity to improve his game so that he can earn those minutes.
That’s because Sprong’s conversations with the Canucks weren’t just about money and term but about who he is as a player, where he needs to get better, and where he could fit on the Canucks if he does the work.
“I know I’ve got some things to work on and we talked about that and how they’re going to help me and the opportunities that are going to present themselves,” said Sprong. “I have an idea where they see me but, at the end of the day, I’m going to have to play the right way and produce and, when I get the opportunity, I’ve got to take it.”
Sprong said one phone call with his future head coach Rick Tocchet “pretty much” made up his mind on signing with the Canucks.
“I talked to Vancouver and spoke to coach Tocc and we had a really good conversation on the phone,” said Sprong. “We’ve known each other — when I got drafted by Pittsburgh, I played under him when he was an assistant coach — and we had a really good talk. I felt really happy after that call and the decision was a no-brainer after that.”
"My defensive game can be a little bit of a weakness"
It shouldn’t come as a surprise what he and Tocchet discussed. Sprong is well aware of what area needs the most work. He knows exactly why he didn’t earn more minutes in Seattle and Detroit.
“My defensive game can be a little bit of a weakness and it’s the coach’s trust in certain situations where that affects my ice time,” said Sprong. “That’s something we talked about and we’re going to work on in Vancouver to gain the trust and be reliable in those situations.
"I'm working on it over the summertime to work on those details. And it's not just for myself, it's for my team as well and for the guys I'm playing with. For example, chipping out pucks and knowing the time and place of the game — not to take maybe the risk that I would take with 15 minutes left in a period but won't take with three minutes to go in the period. Those are all things we talked about. I know what I can bring to the team and what the opportunity is if I gain the trust."
It will be hard work for Sprong to earn Tocchet’s trust but he knows the payoff will be worth it: a spot in the Canucks’ top-six alongside an elite playmaker like Elias Pettersson. It helps that he and Pettersson are already friends — they went on vacation together a couple of years ago — but that’s a situation any offensively-creative sniper would dream of landing in.
“That’s the goal, that’s what my mindset is going into camp,” said Sprong about playing in the top-six. “That’s going to be earned and not given…If I do get that opportunity when the season starts, it’s not something that’s going to be there every single night. I’m going to have to earn it: take it game-by-game and earn the coach’s trust.”
"It's kind of a wake-up call"
Sprong wants to prove to the Canucks that he can be that player but there’s also an element where he wants to prove himself to the rest of the NHL. He's eager to prove that all the teams who passed up on the opportunity to sign him in free agency made a mistake.
“With the two years I had back-to-back, I felt pretty confident going into free agency,” said Sprong. “It’s something that caught me by surprise. I’ll be honest, it fuels me.”
It’s not just that Sprong has a chip on his shoulder but the limited interest in the first few days of free agency was also a wake-up call.
“I showed that I can put up numbers but there’s other parts of the game that I’ve got to improve on and maybe that’s why teams shied off or didn’t give me what I wanted,” he said. “It’s kind of a wake-up call but I think also at the same time, it’s really good motivation and adds some fuel to the fire.”
But perhaps the only motivation Sprong really needs is the possibility of finding a long-term home in Vancouver.
“I'm hoping Vancouver is not just a one-year thing,” said Sprong. “With the talks we had, I can see myself being there long-term and that's really what excited me.”
“It’s one of my favourite cities to go on the road, with the food and the way the city is — I think it’s a beautiful city,” he added. “The season that they had last year and how much excitement there was and how much buzz there was around the city and then watching the playoff games, seeing the whole city behind them — it’s something you want to be a part of.”
