From The Silky Mitten State: Daniel Sprong has served the role he was signed to play admirably these year with the Red Wings. Will he be back to do it again next season?
From The Silky Mitten State: Daniel Sprong has served the role he was signed to play admirably these year with the Red Wings. Will he be back to do it again next season?
Daniel Sprong signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings for a simple and clear purpose: to provide supplemental goal-scoring. And 59 games into his tenure in Detroit he's done it, with 16 of them to his name despite playing under 13 minutes a night.
It's a lifestyle—high production in modest minutes—that Sprong has learned to embrace across stops in Washington, Seattle, and now with the Red Wings. "I'm pretty confident in the minutes I get, I'm gonna get some looks," Sprong told The Hockey News last month. "I'm an offensive guy, and I try to make offensive plays. It doesn't matter if you play nine minutes or 15 or 20. I'm confident that I'm gonna get some looks every game...It's when those looks don't start coming, that's when you should start worrying. The looks have been there throughout the year, and it's the same thing as last year. It's a different role, and you gotta make the most of it and just wait for your opportunity."
Meanwhile, coach Derek Lalonde has spoken about the ambivalence of the Red Wings' coaching staff with respect to the appropriate role for the high-scoring Amsterdam native. "We battle that question in our room quite a bit. You give him top-six minutes [against] Tampa, he rewards you, basically gets you the game-winner," he said in January. "Give him top-six minutes [against Dallas] and the untrained eye can see, in the second period, a few things found him.”
Now, with his one-year deal set to expire this summer, Detroit must face a more fundamental question: Is Daniel Sprong a part of the team's long-term plans? On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, Connor Earegood and I discussed this question, touching on the way he's delivered positive results in his assigned role, his potential market as a free agent, as well as the prospects who could theoretically step into his shoes. Here's an excerpt of that conversation:
For the full episode, go to Apple Podcast or Spotify:
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