UFA Daniel Sprong Receiving "High Interest" From Canadian Team

Daniel Sprong is the top unrestricted free agent still on the market, but that doesn't mean there isn't interest in the under-the-radar bottom-six scorer.

One team that is fully aware of Sprong would be the Vancouver Canucks. President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford is the man who drafted Sprong in the second round for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

And according to insider Rich Dhaliwal, the Canucks are indeed "highly" interested in the eight-year veteran.

Sprong potted 18 goals with the Detroit Red Wings last season, with 25 assists for 43 points in 76 games played. And all of that in just 12:00 minutes per night. The season before that, with the Seattle Kraken, Sprong netted a career-high 21 goals and 25 assists in 66 games, in just 11:25 time on ice.

As a 5v5 scorer, his per-60 minute stats are impressive.

Daniel Sprong is 11th among all players in 5-on-5 goals-per-60-minutes over the past two years.

He's just ahead of Zach Hyman, Artemi Panarin, and Mikko Rantanen.

He scores even strength goals at an incredible rate and the #Canucks need wingers who can score.

(min 500 mins)
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) July 19, 2024

According to Noah Strang, Sprong's last two seasons put him 11th in the NHL in 5v5 goals-per-60-minutes over that time period.

The Canucks did add some needed wing scoring already this month, in Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood, and Danton Heinen. But with his wicked shot, Sprong would be a very nice add to the Canucks' bottom-six.

SPRONG 🚨 Veleno picks up the turnover and makes a great pass to Sprong who buries his 13th goal. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/hrtP9UaiVe
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) February 1, 2024