if I’m interpreting the piece below correctly, Sprong is perceived as a career 4th liner who put up nice offensive numbers out of nowhere last season. So Seattle didn’t want to pay up for a possible fluke. I still think it’s an OK gamble though. Unexpecting though.
https://soundofhockey.com/2023/06/30/daniel-sprong-morgan-geekie-no-qualifying-offer/
Why Daniel Sprong didn’t get qualified
We have been predicting for some time that Daniel Sprong would not be qualified by the Kraken. Sure enough, the team confirmed that he had not been tendered an offer Friday, making him free to sign elsewhere for the second offseason in a row.
The issue with Sprong was not so much that he wasn’t valuable for the Kraken—he certainly was, potting 21 goals and adding 25 assists in a fourth-line role this season—but more that he had arbitration rights that could have resulted in a bigger payday for next season than Seattle was willing to give. By having such a productive season offensively, Sprong would have commanded a huge pay increase over the league minimum $750,000 he made in 2022-23.
Clearly, the Kraken weren’t willing to commit a big chunk of cap space to Sprong, who continues to be viewed around the league as a one-way player. We do not think it would have been a stretch for an arbitrator to grant something north of $2 million (or even $3 million?) to a player that just scored 20+ goals.