I stated this on X yesterday, but if you were to ask me, the New Jersey Devils are better served with Daniel Sprong on a league minimum contract as their 13th forward, as opposed to a player in Juho Lammikko who hasn’t played in the NHL in three seasons, or Kurtis MacDermid who barely eclipses five minutes per night.
Instead, Sprong could be headed elsewhere. Look, Sprong has had narratives written about him, and I understand the pause for concern. However, we saw a highly motivated player when he reached New Jersey, and it’s not like he didn’t just score 18 and 21 goals respectively in the two seasons prior, eclipsing 40 points each year.
Time will tell, perhaps he gets a PTO somewhere, but the Sprong situation doesn’t add up to me. Plenty of players have a tough year. A player like Sprong who is a proven depth scorer at just 28 years old should get another chance somewhere on this side of the pond.
More on Sprong’s future in the links.
Elsewhere, Erik Karlsson trade stops, Don Cherry drama, and more.
Let’s do that hockey.
Devils Trade Rumors & News
New Jersey Hockey Now: As opposed to his wish to remain in New Jersey, Daniel Sprong is drawing interest overseas and could be KHL-bound.
NHL.com: The Devils prospects will once again head to Buffalo ahead of training camp this fall to participate in the annual prospect challenge.
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NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The first day of the 2025-26 NHL season has been revealed, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to open the season against their former head coach, Mike Sullivan, and the New York Rangers on October 7th.
The 2025-2026 #NHL season begins on Tuesday, October 7 with a tripleheader on ESPN
🏒 5p ET | #Blackhawks–#TimeToHunt
🏒 8p ET | #LetsGoPens–#ItTakesEveryone
🏒 10:30p ET | #GoAvsGo–#GoKingsGoMore: https://t.co/bTgomsYkEP pic.twitter.com/ESN9N2pW4A
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 14, 2025
TSN: Speaking of Pittsburgh, Travis Yost is still a believer that Erik Karlsson could be an effective blueliner. Especially if a Penguins trade lands him at the right stop. Here are three destinations Yost believes would benefit the Swedish defenseman, with some statistical analysis to boot.
NYI Hockey Now: The New York Islanders have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL. What a stark difference a year makes after lacking talent in the pipeline just last season. Looking ahead to the 2026 NHL Draft, there’s already one top prospect they should be keeping close tabs on.
DailyFaceoff: Like many of us, Jeff Marek didn’t want to see the NHL Draft remain decentralized. Yet, the NHL GMs voted to keep the largely unpopular format, thus it lives another year. Marek believes he has a solution to the problem, and throws in a nugget about a potential Edmonton Oilers trade target to solve(?) their goaltending issues.
Toronto Sun: The drama with Don Cherry continues. His former co-host and friend Ron MacLean denounced him after some untimely controversial comments. MacLean later doubled down when he said Cherry said the things he did to purposely get fired. However, there’s apparently been an apology on the behalf of MacLean that perhaps hasn’t resulted the way he’d hoped. Here’s the latest on the situation.
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