Top 3 reasons why Daniel Sprong needed to be traded
The Washington Capitals reunited with Marcus Johansson but had to part ways with Daniel Sprong in the trade. In the end though, it was the best move for both parties.
Sprong had eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 47 games for the Caps in a season where he wanted a bigger role but was a frequent healthy scratch as head coach Peter Laviolette prefers to play veterans.
Currently he has two goals in two games with the Seattle Kraken and it looks like the Caps are losing this trade, but maybe not. Here’s 3 reasons why both parties needed to part ways.
#3 If not now he was going to leave later
Daniel Sprong would have entered this summer as a restricted free agent. He carried a cap hit of $725,000. Sprong was traded to the Capitals in February of 2020 for Christian Djoos from the Anaheim Ducks and back in the day used to be a top prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He broke out with the Ducks after he got traded from the Penguins with 14 goals. Last season with the Caps he had 13 goals seven assists for 20 points in 42 games. He was supposed to get a bigger role this season but it sadly didn’t work out.
#2 The Caps needed someone they were going to use in games, it wasn’t going to be Sprong
In the end the Caps acquired Marcus Johansson ushering in a reunion for him as he returns to a squad featuring Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and T.J. Oshie. Johansson had six goals and 17 assists for 23 points with the Seattle Kraken.
So far he hasn’t recorded a point in three games with Washington. He’s a -1 while averaging 17:04 minutes of ice time. He started out on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Today the Capitals held a morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex prior to their game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Johansson dropped down to the third line where Lars Eller moves to left wing and Connor McMichael will occupy the center position. Maybe this will help improve his game if he and McMichael can gel.
Johansson’s best season with the Caps came in 2016-17 where he scored 24 goals and 34 assists for 58 points. He’s seen stops with the Caps, Kraken, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and Minnesota Wild.
In his career with the Caps, Johansson has 102 goals and 188 assists for 290 points. He is also hungry for a Stanley Cup, something he missed as he got traded in the summer of 2017.
#1 He deserves a bigger role
Daniel Sprong was not going to get a bigger role in Washington. Let’s hope his recent uptick in production with the NHL’s newest franchise is a cautionary tale for the Caps. They didn’t lose the trade with Anthony Mantha and Jakub Vrana. That trade helped both players and teams. Only time will tell if that will be the case here too.
It’s good to see Sprong already succeeding in Seattle and I hope Kraken fans enjoy him and the coaching staff doesn’t take his play for granted. He’s a bright kid who just turned 25 on St. Patrick’s Day.
The only good thing about this trade is Sprong is not only outside of the Metropolitan Division but outside of the Eastern Conference as well. Maybe someday they’ll see each other in the finals but who knows what direction these two franchises will go in.
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The best part about this trade for the Caps is that a bunch of pundits are already predicting a first round exit which couldn’t be better news for this team. They had low expectations in 2018 and took everyone by surprise. If they could come together like that team did, the sky is the limit.