Free Agent Profile: Daniel Sprong
How some NHL players are deployed is a topic of much debate and, sometimes, confusion. Coaches will often ice certain veterans for more minutes than they’re suited for at that stage in their career, while others will keep flawed but skilled players buried in the lineup despite producing numbers that can’t be ignored. Daniel Sprong fits squarely in the latter category.
Sprong has been a strong volume scorer dating back to his junior days, but NHL coaches have kept him buried in their lineups, routinely averaging fourth-line minutes and occasional second power-play duties. A second-round pick of the Penguins in 2015, Sprong unexpectedly found his way into NHL action at age 18 the following season, scoring twice in an 18-game stint. He returned to junior hockey the following season, and despite recording a point per game in his first full professional season with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2017-18, he didn’t have much of a future in the Pens organization. He made Pittsburgh out of camp in 2018-19 but averaged a measly 8:34 per game through 16 contests, producing four assists, before he was traded to the Ducks in exchange for developing defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
In Anaheim, Sprong showed flashes, recording 14 goals and 19 points in 47 games after the swap. But he played only eight games the following year, spending most of it in the AHL, before being traded again to the Capitals. And after another unstable year and a half in D.C., it took yet another trade to the Kraken for the Dutchman to truly find his stride.
Sprong was one of many breakout forwards on Seattle in their 2022-23 campaign, managing to score 21 goals and 46 points with a +13 rating in only 66 appearances. That was good enough for a 26-goal, 57-point pace had he played in all 82 games – ridiculous numbers considering he’d again averaged just 11:25 per game. It yielded some pretty incredible numbers. At even strength, his 3.09 points per 60 minutes were third in the league, only behind Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon and then-Sabre Jeff Skinner.
But that was in a contract year, and he could have landed a semi-rich short-term deal had he taken Seattle to salary arbitration that summer as he was eligible to do. With money needed elsewhere in the lineup, the Kraken opted to walk away, relinquishing his signing rights by not issuing him a qualifying offer. He landed on the open market, signing a one-year, $2MM pact with the Red Wings.
Sprong was still effective as a depth scorer in Hockeytown, but his production took a small step back to 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games. Part of that was due to some puzzling deployment from head coach Derek Lalonde, who deployed him in far more defensive situations at even strength than he’d dealt with in Seattle. That caused his possession numbers to tank, too, seeing his even-strength shot attempt share dive by nearly nine percent from the year before and his expected goals share dive to a career-worst 45%, per Hockey Reference.
Now, aside from the de facto retired Joe Pavelski, Sprong remains the top offensive talent remaining in the second week of free agency. In fact, he and Pavelski are the only two names left unsigned from our Top 50 UFAs list released less than two weeks ago.
Stats
2023-24: 76 GP, 18 G, 25 A, 43 P, -5, 22 PIMs, 12:00 ATOI, 46.4 CF%
Career: 344 GP, 85 G, 74 A, 159 P, -2, 66 PIMs, 11:57 ATOI, 50.3 CF%
Potential Suitors
The Sharks have been active in adding veteran talent this summer to support a forward core led by rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith beginning next season. Most of it has come via bottom-six checking depth, though, with Ty Dellandrea and Barclay Goodrow the notable additions there. Tyler Toffoli was also picked up for some more serious scoring reinforcements, but there is still likely a vacancy for a top-nine forward – especially if captain Logan Couture isn’t healthy to start the season.
Still in California, the Kings could also use a depth winger to replace Arthur Kaliyev, who remains under team control after being qualified last month but isn’t likely to sign a new deal in LA. Sprong has plenty more experience and consistency on his résumé in the bottom-six role that Kaliyev’s filled and carries more upside for a marginal increase in cash.
The Bruins still have some cap space to burn as well and need a more offensively-inclined name to take responsibility away from checking wingers like Justin Brazeau, Trent Frederic and new addition Max Jones. He’d have a decent shot at playing top-nine minutes in Boston at even strength, too, giving him an attractive destination to land more minutes and increase his market value.
Projected Contract
Most players who make it past the initial wave of UFA craziness usually have to settle for one-year deals. Evolving Hockey had predicted a three-year deal in the $3.3MM AAV range to begin with, but it’s unlikely he’ll receive that kind of term with the dust settled on pretty much everyone’s long-term planning. He could still very well land something around that cap hit, but likely on a one-year deal as he had in Detroit last year.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Blue Jackets Sign Jake Christiansen To Two-Way Deal
The Blue Jackets have signed RFA defenseman Jake Christiansen to a one-year, two-way deal, a team announcement states. It’s worth $775K NHL/$350K AHL with a $400K guarantee, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Christiansen was among the 14 players who filed for salary arbitration last week.
Christiansen, 25 in September, has 44 games of NHL experience to this point in his career. Those have all come in Columbus over the past three seasons. He’s scored once and added six assists for seven points with a -11 rating while averaging 13:41 per game, struggling to keep up defensively in the process.
He’s been much better in the minors, where he’s totaled 140 points (40 goals, 100 assists) in 202 games with a -6 rating in four seasons with AHL Cleveland (and briefly Stockton). That includes a 2023-24 season that saw him rack up 13 goals and 46 points in 62 games, earning him a nod on the AHL’s year-end Second All-Star Team after representing the North Division in this year’s All-Star Game. The left-shot Vancouver native has always had an appealing shot from the blue line, leading the entire AHL in goals by defensemen with 13 in 2021-22 and doing the same in juniors with WHL Everett in 2019-20.
There are a couple of spots on the Blue Jackets’ blue lineup for grabs after the team non-tendered Jake Bean and bought out Adam Boqvist. Only five defensemen are signed to one-way deals for next season, including league-minimum veteran pickup Jack Johnson. Christiansen will be in a competition with 2022 sixth-overall pick David Jiříček and 2022 12th-overall pick Denton Mateychuk for roster spots out of camp.
Morning Notes: KHL, Megna, Damiani
Legalities in how Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League operates have become important in recent months. Their relationship with the IIHF and Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) left their clubs open to sanctions when KHL side CSKA Moskva signed Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov to a two-year contract last summer despite his having a valid contract with Philadelphia. That will no longer be the case, as the KHL released a statement yesterday announcing that they’ve gained independence from the IIHF and FHR, giving them a similar status internationally as the NHL. In doing so, KHL clubs no longer need IIHF permission or governance to sign players from foreign leagues – likely the biggest reason for the move. In their statement, the league said they’ll “continue to respect the validity of contracts of other leagues” and that “Experience with the NHL shows that both parties continue to fulfill their obligations even in the absence of a signed Memorandum.”
Other updates to kick off your Wednesday:
- The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have signed UFA forward Jayson Megna to a two-year contract, the team announced yesterday. Megna, 34, spent last season on a two-way deal with the Bruins, which yielded a lone call-up for their final game of the regular season. The Fort Lauderdale native spent parts of four seasons with the Eagles while under contract with the Avalanche from 2019-20 to 2022-23, posting 82 points (41 goals, 41 assists) in 103 games. The Nebraska-Omaha product has 204 NHL appearances under his belt since making his debut with the Penguins back in 2013-14, amassing 12 goals, 21 assists and 33 points with a -28 rating in fourth-line minutes.
- Former Flames and Stars prospect Riley Damiani is taking his talents overseas on a one-year deal with Augsburger Panther of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga, per a club announcement. The 24-year-old pivot was a Dallas fifth-round pick in 2018, but after parts of five seasons with their AHL affiliate, he was traded to the Flames for Emilio Pettersen at this year’s trade deadline. Damiani finished the season with only one goal in 14 games while on assignment to AHL Calgary and wasn’t given a qualifying offer upon the expiration of his contract last month, making him a UFA. Damiani made seven NHL appearances for Dallas back in 2021-22, posting a goal and an assist while averaging 8:32 per game.
Steven Fogarty Announces Retirement
Longtime minor league fixture Steven Fogarty has retired, he announced on his personal Instagram account on Monday morning.
Fogarty, 31, played parts of six NHL seasons and totaled nine total seasons after turning pro after a collegiate career at Notre Dame in 2016. The Rangers selected him out of Minnesota’s Edina High in the third round of the 2011 draft, but he played an additional season of junior hockey with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, plus a full four years with the Irish before turning pro and signing his entry-level deal with New York. Serving as a dependable call-up for four years and playing an important role on the farm with AHL Hartford, wearing the “C” there for his last season in the Rangers organization, he went without a point and posted a -2 rating in 18 appearances before becoming a UFA in 2020.
He landed on a one-year, two-way deal with the Sabres for the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, holding down a similar role to what he’d held in New York. Fogarty was named the captain of AHL Rochester that year but only played in 16 minor league games. He spent other chunks of the season on the taxi squad and briefly on the Sabres’ active roster, where he recorded his first and only three NHL points (one goal, two assists) in nine showings.
Fogarty spent the following three seasons on two-way deals with the Bruins and Wild, adding another four NHL appearances to bring his career total to 31. He’d spent the last two years under contract with Minnesota, where his last NHL action came in a two-game stint in November 2022. Fogarty spent all of 2023-24 on assignment to AHL Iowa, where he served as an alternate captain for the second season in a row and had 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 69 games with a -21 rating.
A UFA for the past week, he now steps away from a lengthy minor-league career that included 106 goals, 162 assists, 268 points, 282 PIMs, and a -80 rating in 464 games in parts of nine AHL seasons, along with his three points in 31 NHL games. PHR congratulates Fogarty on his pro career and wishes him the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Oilers Re-Sign Raphael Lavoie To Two-Way Deal
12:36 PM: Lavoie will earn a salary of $225K while on assignment to Bakersfield next season, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports. That’s a significant raise from the $70K AHL salary he earned last year after signing his qualifying offer.
10:21 AM: The Oilers announced that RFA center Raphael Lavoie is back with the team next season on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K. His AHL salary wasn’t disclosed.
Lavoie made his NHL debut last season, appearing in seven games for Edmonton and posting a -2 rating with four shots on goal while averaging 7:17 per game. It was an important step for Lavoie, who’s been in the Oilers’ system since being drafted in the second round in 2019. Some expected him to make the opening night roster last fall to avoid hitting waivers for the first time in his career, but he passed through unclaimed in October en route to spending most of the season on assignment to AHL Bakersfield.
That’s where the 23-year-old has spent nearly all of his time since turning pro in 2020. The 6’4″, 216-lb forward has some appealing minor league numbers, and he’s coming off a career-high 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games with Bakersfield last year. He’s got some snarl to his game and likely still has NHL upside – it just hasn’t come fast enough for Edmonton to make him a regular before his waiver exemption expired.
The Quebec native, who plays both center and right wing, faces a crowded Oilers forward group next season with 12 players already signed to one-way deals. That doesn’t include RFA Dylan Holloway, who’s a virtual lock to make the team. But after their free agent spending spree, they sit $350K over the cap, per CapFriendly, and will likely move out a contract to accommodate a new deal for Holloway. That could open up room for Lavoie to make the NHL roster, something the Oilers would likely prefer due to his league minimum cap hit.
Lavoie was eligible for salary arbitration this summer but didn’t elect for it last Friday, signaling an agreement was likely close.
NL’s EV Zug Signs Fredrik Olofsson
July 8: It took a while, but Olofsson is indeed heading to Zug. It’s a two-year deal, the team announced.
March 21: After two seasons in the NHL and AHL, Avalanche forward Fredrik Olofsson‘s time stateside may be coming to an end. The pending UFA has been linked to EV Zug of the Swiss National League on the open market this summer, Johan Svensson of the Swedish publication Expressen reports. Notably, it appears the Swedish forward won’t be returning to SHL club IK Oskarshamn, where he spent two seasons prior to signing as a free agent with the Stars in 2022.
Olofsson, 27, was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014. However, after a post-draft season in major junior play with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and a four-year career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he was not signed to an NHL contract and became a free agent when his exclusive signing rights expired in the summer of 2019. He headed back home to Sweden for the first time in his career, having played all of his youth hockey in the United States, and signed a one-year deal with MODO Hockey, then of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. After impressing with 34 points and a +15 rating in 52 games, he garnered interest from teams in Sweden’s top division and landed with Oskarshamn in 2020.
The 6-foot-2 forward was a natural fit there, recording 42 points in 49 games during the 2021-22 campaign and generating NHL interest as a result. Dallas landed him after his SHL season ended, inking him to a one-year, one-way contract in May 2022. He didn’t crack the team out of camp but ended up getting significant NHL time nonetheless, recording a goal and three assists in 28 games while playing fourth-line minutes. Injuries and suspensions meant Olofsson had a chance to play in a handful of postseason contests, too, playing twice in the Stars’ Western Conference Final loss to the Golden Knights.
Olofsson was looking for more NHL opportunities than that, however. With Dallas unlikely to re-sign him, they traded his signing rights to the Avalanche last June in exchange for future considerations. He immediately inked a one-year (and, surprisingly, two-way) contract with the Avs, who were facing a heavy amount of turnover among their depth forwards.
As a result, Olofsson cracked the squad out of camp during his second NHL try. He spent most of this season centering Colorado’s fourth line but hasn’t been much of a factor, recording nine points, a -5 rating, an abysmal 39.7 FO%, and subpar possession metrics in heavy defensive usage while averaging only 9:45 per game. He hasn’t avoided minor-league assignments, either, as Colorado placed him on waivers and assigned him to AHL Colorado in late February. The team recalled him under emergency conditions shortly after the trade deadline, with injuries sidelining multiple depth forwards such as Zach Parise and Chris Wagner, but he was returned to the minors after a five-day stint with the Avs.
Now back with the Eagles, where he has six points and a +8 rating in eight games, it seems likely Olofsson will head back to Europe for increased ice time and responsibility, even if a deal with Zug falls through. If the report comes to fruition, though, Olofsson would be joining one of the top teams in Switzerland – Zug won back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022 and has made the NL championship series four times since 2017. The club is currently tied 1-1 in their first-round series against SC Bern as the NL postseason began earlier this week. The team boasts only a handful of players with NHL experience, though – only former Blue Jackets winger Gregory Hofmann, former Devils center Brian O’Neill, and former Canucks winger Marc Michaelis, who all combine to only 61 games.
Sabres Sign First-Rounder Konsta Helenius
The Sabres have signed 2024 14th overall pick Konsta Helenius to his three-year, entry-level contract, per a team release. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Helenius, 18, fell a bit below his expected draft slot last month. He was the first Finn off the board and the third right winger after the Ducks took Beckett Sennecke third and the Canadiens took Ivan Demidov fifth, although he can also play center. Most public scouting sites had him as a top-10 prospect in the class, and he checked in at No. 9 in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final pre-draft polling of NHL scouts.
At 5’11” and 190 lbs, Helenius has pro-ready size and already has a fair amount of experience against professional competition, spending most of the last two seasons in the top-level Finnish Liiga. Last season with Jukurit, Helenius finished seventh on the team in scoring with 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games, very strong production for a draft-eligible forward. He added six points in six postseason contests to finish the year.
He’s far from being the highest-ceiling talent in the class, but he’s one of the most projectable ones and was likely the best player available with Buffalo’s pick at 14. The Sabres acquired the pick the day before the draft in a swap with the Sharks, who had previously acquired it from the Penguins in last summer’s Erik Karlsson trade.
Signing Helenius to an entry-level contract allows him to potentially suit up for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester this season, something The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports is the team’s preference. After leading all U18 Liiga players in points for the second year in a row, he’s likely ready for the jump. Elite Prospects lauds him as “a well-rounded, detailed play-driver who is always a step ahead of the opposition.“
Capitals Promote Chris Patrick To GM, Brian MacLellan Remains President
The Capitals will have a new general manager next season for the first time in a decade. Chris Patrick is being promoted to the role, as well as senior VP of hockey operations, after serving as an assistant GM for the past three seasons, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He’s replacing Brian MacLellan, who remains with the organization as their president of hockey operations. The Capitals announced the move shortly thereafter.
The GM/POHO setup is becoming increasingly common as teams look to give external and internal up-and-coming options a chance in the GM role. They’ll operate similarly to Patrik Allvin (GM) and Jim Rutherford (POHO) with the Canucks, the former of which finished as a finalist for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.
This was the logical next step after the Capitals added the POHO tag to MacLellan’s title last August, along with giving Patrick a small promotion from assistant to associate GM. Patrick has been with Washington since the 2009-10 season, first joining as a pro scout. He was named their director of minor league operations in 2015-16 and was promoted further as their director of player personnel for the following season. That’s where he remained until the AGM promotion in 2021.
Patrick, 48, has racked up quite the reputation over the past few seasons, with the AHL’s Hershey Bears falling under his purview as AGM. Under Patrick, the Bears – already the most successful franchise in AHL history – have won back-to-back Calder Cups and had 53 wins last season, one short of the team record.
“We are thrilled to announce Chris’ promotion to general manager,” said Caps owner Ted Leonsis. “Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is fully prepared for this next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen, and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to drive our team forward. We are confident that he will thrive in this new role.”
MacLellan, meanwhile, graduates to a role with slightly less day-to-day responsibility after spending 10 seasons as Washington’s GM. He built the team’s only Stanley Cup-winning roster in 2018 and has been with the Caps for over two decades, first joining as a scout in 2000-01. The 65-year-old will remain with the only NHL front office he’s ever known.
Penguins’ AHL Affiliate Signs Dan Renouf
The Penguins are gaining some veteran organizational depth on the back end, with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announcing the signing of defenseman Dan Renouf to a one-year deal today. Renouf can still sign a deal with any NHL club, but he projects to start the season on the farm with Pittsburgh’s prospects.
Renouf didn’t see any NHL action last season and made only one appearance with the Bruins in 2022-23, although he’s also seen NHL ice in the 2016-17, 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns with the Avalanche and Red Wings. The two-time Calder Cup champion was a UFA this summer after completing a two-year, two-way deal with Boston that paid him an AHL salary of $400K each season. He has three assists and a -6 rating in his 24 career NHL appearances.
The 30-year-old has been an AHL fixture since signing with Detroit as an undrafted free agent in 2016, skating in over 450 minor league games over nine seasons. He’s served as a physical, defensively sound presence and logged heavy minutes for farm clubs in Charlotte, Colorado, Grand Rapids and Providence, posting 118 career points (19 goals, 99 assists) with 577 PIMs and a +102 rating. The left-shot defender plays bigger than his 6’1″, 198-lb frame suggests.
He addresses a major need for experience on the Baby Pens’ blue line next season, which was only set to boast 27-year-old Ryan Shea and his fewer than 200 games of AHL service as its elder statesmen. He’ll likely serve as a mentor to Pittsburgh’s big-fish blue-line prospect in 20-year-old Owen Pickering – the 6’5″ 2022 first-rounder will play in his first full pro season in 2024-25, likely with WBS.
Penguins, Sidney Crosby Making Progress On Extension
After beginning formal extension discussions late last month, the Penguins are close to keeping their franchise cornerstone in the mix for a few more years. Sources tell The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that Pittsburgh should formalize an extension for captain Sidney Crosby in the coming days. The three-time Stanley Cup champion could earn an AAV as high as $10MM on a three-year deal, Rossi indicated back in April.
Crosby, 37 next month, is coming off arguably his best season in quite some time. Over his 19 seasons in Pittsburgh, he’s passed the 40-goal mark three times – including last year. He placed top 10 in Hart Trophy voting for first time since 2021 and top 10 in Selke Trophy balloting as well for the first time since falling just short of being a finalist in 2019. He hasn’t hit the century mark in points since 2018-19, but he did still churn out 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points while playing in all 82 games for the second straight season – the first time he’s done that – to lead the Pens in every offensive category by a wide margin.
The all-time great is entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4MM extension signed immediately upon becoming eligible for one in 2012, a deal that’s seen him play the healthiest hockey of his career. The 5’11” pivot missed a good chunk of what would have been his prime seasons due to concussions, playing only 99 out of 212 regular season games between the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. Since then, injuries have held him out for more than 10 games in a campaign only twice.
The sooner a deal gets signed, the sooner speculation quiets down that Crosby may finish his career anywhere else than Pittsburgh. That’s one of the primary reasons for getting an extension done early this summer, as a league and team source told Rossi that the pending deal is viewed as “a commitment to Pittsburgh” by both Crosby and the Pens’ front office, led by general manager Kyle Dubas.
A cap hit starting with a 10 would be the richest of Crosby’s career, which may seem puzzling as he ages, but it’s likely fair value considering their inability to frontload a new deal as they did with his previous extension, which only paid him $3MM in actual salary in each of the past two seasons and will do so again this year. It’s right in line with his market value, too – Evolving Hockey projects a three-year, $10.82MM AAV deal for Sid the Kid if he inks an extension this month. A full no-move clause, as he had for all 12 seasons of his previous deal, should be expected.
Crosby’s extension won’t quite fall under the same rules as a normal contract. He’ll be given a 35+ contract due to his age, which prevents the Pens from reducing his cap hit by giving him a signing bonus in the second or third season or otherwise front-loading the contract with salary.
Multi-year 35+ contracts aren’t all that common solely because of a player’s age, but they do happen. Former Stars defenseman Ryan Suter is a recent example, inking a four-year deal that was actually backloaded, paying him more salary in the last two years of the deal than in the first two years. That allowed the cap hit to be calculated as normal, equating to the actual average annual value of the contract ($3.65MM). It also allowed them to buy out Suter this offseason and actually receive a cap benefit from doing so. Expect Crosby’s deal to carry a similar backloaded structure or award him even compensation across all three years.
As for the Pens’ roster construction, getting cost certainty on a Crosby extension is imperative for Dubas as he attempts to retool on the fly and get Pittsburgh back to playoff contention in his captain’s final few seasons. They’ve missed the postseason for two years in a row, their first time missing the playoffs in the Crosby era since his 2005-06 rookie season.
[RELATED: Penguins Options To Play On Sidney Crosby’s Line]
With Matthew Nieto expected to start 2024-25 on long-term injured reserve while he recovers from knee surgery, giving Dubas $4.42MM in cap space left to work with this summer – for now. While they’ve had some turnover among their depth defensemen and forwards, they’re expected to run it back with the same top-six forward group and top-four defenders that they ended 2023-24 with. The Penguins are hoping those additions, which include Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevin Hayes, are enough to make up the three-point gap that kept them out of a wild-card spot in the East last season.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.