Yahoo Sports’ Nick Ashbourne believes that several of the NHL’s unrestricted free agents who “bet on themselves” with short-term contracts might end up cashing in on their wagers, and Ashbourne includes new Red Wings forward Daniel Sprong in his list, noting that Sprong’s 1-year, $2 million contract might yield a much larger payday a summer from now:
How it could pay off: Sprong has been one of the NHL’s most effective scorers on a per-minute basis and he’s joining a team that should be able to give him a bigger role than he’s accustomed to.
Since 2018-19, the winger ranks 10th among all qualified (100-plus games played) skaters in 5-on-5 goals/60 at 1.20. A Detroit Red Wings team hardly bursting with forward talent will be able to test whether that efficiency holds up with a larger workload.
He’s also likely to get some power-play time, which could help juice his numbers. Last season he logged a career-high 127:18 with the man advantage. His six power-play goals were tied for second on the Seattle Kraken. If given enough runway, Sprong might just put up some eye-popping numbers and hit free agency prior to his age-27 season.
Where it could go wrong: While Detroit should provide some solid opportunities from an ice-time perspective, Sprong won’t have elite teammates to lean on.
He’s joining a Red Wings club that ranked just 24th in the NHL in scoring (2.89 goals/game) with the 17th-ranked power play (21.1%).
Unless he works his way to the top line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, he’s unlikely to play with guys capable of elevating his game.
Continued; I think Sprong will do just fine on a second line…
