Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Sometimes the ‘journeyman’ label in pro sports is interpreted as a negative. Some people interpret it as a putdown that indicates a veteran player isn’t good enough to stay in one market. And that’s not a totally unfair interpretation. But from an optimistic point of view, a journeyman has staying power from a league perspective. And an example of a modern-day journeyman is Seattle right winger Daniel Sprong, who was dealt from Vancouver to the Kraken Friday for future considerations.
The 27-year-old Sprong is kicking off his second stint with Seattle, where he posted 27 goals and 52 points in 72 games in one-and-a-half seasons from 2022-23. Sprong played for Detroit last season, generating 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games, but that wasn’t good enough to get him more than a one-year, $975,000 contract (financial info via Puck Pedia) with the Canucks this off-season – and in nine games with Vancouver this season, he had only one goal and three points.
In parts of nine NHL seasons, Sprong has appeared in 353 regular-season games, amassing 86 goals and 162 points – numbers that aren’t Hockey Hall-of-Fame-worthy, but decent-enough totals for someone who doesn’t get first, second or third-line minutes. Indeed, Sprong has averaged just 11:56 of ice time in his NHL career, and although he’s not going to get a wealth of minutes in his second go-round with the Kraken, he can chip in some secondary offense and potentially get himself back toward being a 15-20-goal-scorer.
Sprong has played on six different NHL teams in his career — Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Washington, Seattle, Detroit and Vancouver — and since he left the Penguins in 2018-19, he’s never played more than two consecutive seasons with any one team. Again, that shows a lack of staying power, but it also shows multiple teams have seen enough in Sprong’s game to put him in their employ. Given that the average NHL career lasts approximately 4.5 years, Sprong has already doubled the career length of many of his counterparts. There’s something to be said for that.
Is Sprong a journeyman? We’d have to answer in the affirmative on that front. But that’s not intended as a slight. On the contrary, the Kraken clearly think Sprong has something left to contribute. Sprong’s offensive production has increased over the years, and you have to give him credit for that.
He may never get back to his offensive pace from a couple of years ago, but with Seattle struggling in the Pacific Division standings and looking for help any way they can get it, Sprong has what could be one of his final kicks at the can at the NHL level. It’s now up to him to prove he still belongs in hockey’s top league.
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