It is past time for the Detroit Red Wings to consider promoting forward Daniel Sprong.
Daniel Sprong, 26, is quietly having an excellent first season with the Detroit Red Wings. The talented winger was just one of many off-season additions made by general manager Steve Yzerman in an attempt to overhaul a large portion of the roster in preparation for a playoff berth for the first time in what seems like an eternity to many Red Wings fans. Following a long run of playoff appearances, the Detroit Red Wings have now missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.
Sprong had 21 goals and 46 points in 66 games with the Seattle Kraken last season despite playing just over 11 minutes per game. That is impressive output for a fourth-line player. Sprong did see significant time on Seattle’s power play, where he scored six goals and assisted on eight others. That’s an astounding 3.7 points per 60-minute average, including two assists and 1.7 goals. That is incredible production, which begs the question, why did the Kraken not qualify Sprong last season as a restricted free agent? Strange, but Sprong is no stranger to change. He joined the league at the age of 18 and has spent the last eight seasons with five different organizations.
Sprong has four goals and nine points in 15 games with the Red Wings this season. With Detroit, he’s averaging just under 14 minutes per game. Still, head coach Derek Lalonde should consider putting Sprong in the lineup and allowing him to play with more skilled players to see how productive he can be when given more chances. During even strength situations, Sprong has maintained a very consistent Corsi For Percentage of 52 and a Relative Corsi For Percentage of 5.5. This season, he has averaged 2.6 points per 60 minutes.
Sprong scored an important go-ahead goal late in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday afternoon, just before the Detroit Red Wings loaded up and headed to Sweden. Jake Walman would eventually score the game-winning goal early in the third period, helping Detroit to a 5-4 victory. Sprong had been playing on the Red Wings’ fourth line, with veteran forward Robby Fabbri returning to the lineup. Fabbri is one of those players who will frustrate you with his inability to stay healthy, but when he is, he has proven to be productive.Fabbri scored again for the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, giving him two goals in three games this season. Fabbri skated with Joe Veleno and Christian Fischer on the third line.
Between Sprong and Klim Kostin was Michael Rasmussen on the fourth line. I don’t mind balancing the bottom two lines with Fischer in the third group rather than keeping him with Rasmussen and Kostin, but having Sprong play with Veleno and Fabbri creates a unit that nearly mirrors their second line of David Perron, J.T. Compher, and Andrew Copp.
In fact, I’d prefer to see Sprong skate with Compher and Copp instead of Perron on occasion. That group should be followed by a combination of Fabbri, Veleno, and Perron, which reunites Fischer with Rasmussen and Kostin on the fourth line, creating a heavy unit that is responsible defensively and has the potential to wreak havoc in the offensive zone by wearing down the defense with a physical cycle. Moving Sprong to the second unit will give him more opportunities to be the line’s go-to shooter. He has proven to be a valuable puck carrier and wall protector, similar to Perron but with much more speed.
