logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Around the NHL: Daniel Sprong signed with Vancouver, Columbus hires Dean Evason, and more!
alt
Photo credit: © Stephen R. Sylvanie - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Jul 23, 2024, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 23, 2024, 00:33 EDT
Comments
Can you believe it’s nearing the end of July?
In recent days, the Columbus Blue Jackets found their new head coach, a 20-goal scorer takes his talents out west, a young up and coming team re-signs a depth player, and a 2024 draftee signed his entry-level contract.
Let’s dig into all of that in the latest Around the NHL!

Dean Evason named the Blue Jackets’ head coach

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ head coach has been in turmoil since the end of last season, as they’ve gone through three coaches in just over a year. Brad Larsen (now a Flames assistant coach) served from 2021-23 until he was fired at the end of the 2022-23 season. Mike Babcock lasted a couple of months before he was fired for off-ice conduct, while his replacement Pascal Vincent was fired after just one season. On Monday, they hired Dean Evason.
Dean Evason, 59, had a National Hockey League career that spanned from the 1983-84 season until the 1995-96 season, spending his last 67 games with the Calgary Flames, before heading to Europe for three seasons.
Shortly after his playing career, he transitioned to coaching, spending three seasons behind the bench for the Kamloops Blazers from the 1999-2000 season, until the 2001-02 season. He spent three more seasons in the Western Hockey League, before taking a role as the Washington Capitals assistant from 2005-06 until 2011-12.
Evason was the Milwaukee Admirals’ head coach from 2012-13 until 2017-18, reaching the first round of the postseason in four of the six years, before becoming the assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild from 2019-19 until his promotion to head coach in 2019-20.
In his five years as the Wild head coach, Evason had a 251-147-77 record until he was let go after 19 games where the Wild went 5-10-4.

Daniel Sprong signs a one-year deal with Vancouver

Daniel Sprong was seen as the best unrestricted free agent remaining on the market, that was until he signed a one-year deal worth $975,000 with the Vancouver Canucks, the same contract he signed with the Detroit Red Wings prior to the beginning of last season.
The Dutch-born winger was drafted in the second-round of the 2015 draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and bounced around the league before finding a home with the Seattle Kraken in 2021-22. The next season saw him score a career-high 21 goals and 46 points, but it only landed him a one-year deal worth $950,000.
Sprong put up similar numbers in 2023-24 with the Wings, scoring 18 goals and 43 points in 75 games, as the Wings just narrowly missed the postseason for the ninth consecutive season. Once again, Sprong put up middle six numbers and signed a one-year deal for less than $1 million.
Why? Well, Sprong has an excellent release and plays well against the opposition’s bottom six, but he is a liability defensively and his production drops when he moves up in the lineup. He’s a great bottom six depth scorer, but his style of play is exposed once moving up the lineup.
Still, pretty good value for a player who’s averaged 19 goals the past two seasons.

Joe Veleno and Detroit avoid arbitration

Speaking of the Red Wings, they settled with Sprong’s former teammate, Joe Veleno, for two-years worth $2.275 million annually.
Veleno is one of just nine players granted exceptional status to the Canadian Hockey League, but fell to the Wings at the bottom of the first-round, where they selected him 30th overall in the 2018 draft.
Mainly a fourth-line centre, Veleno had a career-year where he scored 12 goals and 28 points in 80 games, surpassing the nine goals and 11 points he had in 81 games last season with the Wings.
It’s a good price for a player that can play anywhere in the bottom six, but the Wings still have some bigger fish to fry as both Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider remain as restricted free agents.

Cole Beaudoin signs entry-level contract

As the summer rolls along, we’ll see more and more recently-drafted players sign their entry-level contract. Selected with the 24th-overall pick, Cole Beaudoin signed his ELC on Monday with the team from Utah.
Last season with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, he scored 28 goals and 62 points in 62 games on a fairly weak team that finished in the middle of the pack in the standings. In the postseason, the 18-year-old centre scored two goals and five points in the Colts’ first round defeat.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

Editorials

Breaking News