Well Vancouver Canucks fans, we’ve officially hit the dead zone in the NHL offseason, where there’s really not a lot of news to cover. Don’t worry; there are only 79 days — or 1900 hours — or 114,000 minutes — or 6,840,000 seconds — until we get to see the Canucks hit the ice again on October 9th. However, over these past few days, there has been some news to break, including a new snippet from the Canucks.

Daniel Sprong

The Canucks made headlines this past weekend when they signed winger Daniel Sprong. The former Detroit Red Wing had 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games last season and is just two seasons removed from a career year with 21 goals, 46 points and a plus-13 rating in 66 games. What’s most impressive about Sprong is that he excels in minimal minutes. Over the past two seasons, he’s averaged 11:25 minutes and 12:00 minutes of ice time per season.
Last season, Sprong wore numbers 17 and 88 with the Red Wings. However, with Filip Hronek wearing number 17 and Nils Äman wearing number 88, Sprong decided to go with number 91. Sprong will go back to the number he wore during his time with the Seattle Kraken from 2021-2023.
The Canucks have now assigned numbers to each of their signings this offseason: Danton Heinen (#20), Derek Forbort (#27), Kiefer Sherwood (#44), Vincent Desharnais (#73), Jake DeBrusk (#74), and now, Daniel Sprong (#91).

Calgary Flames’ New Arena

After announcing the plans in 2023, the Calgary Flames had to wait a long time to get the renderings for their new arena. Funny enough, the Commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, told the Flames that their current building (the Scotiabank Saddledome) was too outdated and that they needed to look into a new arena.
While the Scotiabank Saddledome is an iconic name, Calgary Sports and Entertainment president Robert Hayes confirmed that they won’t be straying far from that name. Scotiabank will keep the naming rights, and they’ve named it “Scotia Place.”
Construction is expected to begin at some point this season, with Scotia Place scheduled to be completed in 2027 and to be ready for the Flames’ 2027-2028 season. While the Flames are upgrading their arena, they are downgrading their capacity. The Saddledome has 19,289 seats, while Scotia Place is projected to have just 18,400. The new arena is expected to cost the Flames and the city of Calgary $1.22 billion.

New Coach in Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a busy offseason. First, they hired former Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Don Waddell. And the house cleaning wasn’t done there. In one of his first business moves, Waddell let go of one-year bench boss Pascal Vincent. The club announced today that it agreed to a multi-year contract with Dean Evason.
“Dean Evason brings to coaching what he brought as a player – passion, hard work and tenacity – and I couldn’t be happier that he will serve as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,” said Waddell. “He has spent well over two decades in this league as a player, assistant coach and head coach and I believe that experience, combined with the outstanding person he is, will allow Dean to get the best out of our players and put us in a position to succeed as a team.”
Evason, 59, played a 16-year NHL career until 1999. Since then, he’s been behind the bench and finally got his big break in 2005 when he was promoted to assistant coach of the Washington Capitals. He would spend 2012-2018 as head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals before he got another shot in the NHL. Evason was named assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild in 2018 and was named the head coach in the 2020 offseason. Evason would accrue a 147-77-27 record over his five seasons as the Wild head coach before being let go earlier this season.
“I am incredibly proud and honored to be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and appreciate very much the opportunity that Don, the McConnell family and Mike Priest have extended to me,” said Evason. “There is a great core and a lot of young talent on this team. I am really looking forward to working with this group and helping us become a team that plays extremely hard and competes at the highest level.”
Evason is now the 11th overall coach in Columbus Blue Jackets history.

Los Angeles Kings extend young star

The Los Angeles Kings have now locked up their biggest restricted free agent this summer, Quinton Byfield.
Byfield, 21, signed a five-year $31.25 million contract that pays him $6.25 million annually. The former second-overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft broke out last season with 20 goals, 55 points and a plus-19 rating. After never averaging over 14:03 minutes per game over the past two seasons, Byfield jumps up to playing a first-line role with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe while averaging 16:29 minutes per game.
By the end of this deal, Byfield will walk straight to unrestricted free agency with the freedom to sign wherever he pleases. This five-year bridge deal could look like one of the best steals around the league, but it could burn the Kings if he chooses to leave afterward.
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