The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a superb article which summarizes the Red Wings free agency outlook, and he dug into the bottom of the depth chart to discuss the borderline Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins’ players.
He also discusses the 1i-goal-scoring elephant in the room in Daniel Sprong, who probably won’t be back due to his status as an even-strength defensive liability:
Daniel Sprong, RW/LW
Last contract: $2 million AAV for one year
Season stats: 76 games played, 18 goals, 25 assists, 55.8% on-ice expected goals, 19.8% share of possible ice time
If you take him for what he is — a bottom six sniper who struggles to defend — Sprong is a valuable role player. He was a great source of offensive depth for the Red Wings, especially on the power play where he scored 12 of his points. But with Sprong, there’s always the big what-if of the player he could be if he rounded out his game. At 27 years old, Sprong has the odds of doing that stacked against him.
That’s probably why Sprong is most likely to be a free agent. His scoring gives him bargaining power for a pay raise, but his prioritization of scoring is antithetical to the defensive responsibility that Detroit wants to emphasize in the future. And this future seemed all but decided when Lalonde scratched Sprong late in the season with playoff hopes on the line. If trust in Sprong is lacking, it’s safe to say he’ll be moving on to another team.
Continued (at length); I just don’t think that the Red Wings can pay Sprong what his goal-scoring total merits on the open market.
That’s okay. It’s going to stink to lose his production, but Sprong was an utterly terrifying player to deal with in terms of his defensive lapses and role on the team as a 3rd/4th line player. Maybe another team gives “Sprong Song” a real chance to be in their top six, and he shines. We can hope that it happens, and that it isn’t within the Red Wings’ division
