Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses Red Wings free agent signing Daniel Sprong will fit in Detroit’s lineup:
The big question for Detroit coach Derek Lalonde is deciding what how to use Sprong. Even though he played fourth line last season, he has never been known as a strong two-way player.
Could Lalonde give him a shot on the second line with JT Compher as his center, or maybe on a middle six line with Michigan Rasmussen and Andrew Copp? Or does Detroit use him like Seattle did — perhaps going with a scoring fourth line with Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno?
The Sprong decision could be impacted on how Lalonde decides to use big and versatile forward Klim Kostin.
It probably makes the most sense to give him a shot initially on a scoring line, because Sprong did score 15 even-strength goals. That’s the same number that Dylan Larkin scored in 2022-23. The Red Wings signed Sprong for his scoring touch.
All we know for sure is that Sprong will [get] power power play time. He had six power play goals last [season].
