The real reason Daniel Sprong was traded for nothing.

On Friday evening, the Vancouver Canucks made the curious move of trading forward Daniel Sprong to the Seattle Kraken but fans of the Canucks were left scratching their heads when they saw the return.

The Canucks effectively gave sprong away to the Kraken, receiving no real tangible return in the trade, with only a promise of "future considerations" made on the part of the Kraken. Sprong hadn't exactly been dynamite for the Canucks to start the season, appearing in 9 games and scoring 1 goal while adding 2 assists for a total of 3 points, but to receive no return at all did seem less than ideal.

On Saturday however, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman appears to have revealed the real reason Sprong was moved for no return and it sounds like there may be two factors at play here. The first, is that it sounds like the Canucks may have done right by Sprong in sending him back to a team he had previously played for.

From Friedman:

The interesting thing about his trade to Seattle is that the Canucks could have waived him, and there are only six teams ahead of the Kraken in priority. That tells us: Seattle wanted to make sure it got him, and the Canucks — who accepted nothing in return — made sure he got there. That’s doing someone a favour.

While that won't do anything for the Canucks in the short term it may help the teams reputation when it comes to signing free agents that are on the bubble. Sprong was looking for a contract this summer and eventually signed with the Canucks, and any free agents that find themselves in a similar situation in the future may look favorably on the Canucks as a potential destination knowing that they will be treated right should a trade become a possibility.

The other factor, and perhaps the more important of the two from the perspective of the Canucks fan base, is that another player on the Canucks roster may have forced the team to make this move. Canucks forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been tearing it up in the American Hockey League this season and it sounds like his ascension to the NHL roster may be imminent.

Again from Friedman:

Jonathan Lekkerimaki’s five-goal-in-seven games start at AHL Abbotsford has the Canucks thinking his time is coming sooner than later, which was bad news for Daniel Sprong.

While fans in Vancouver won't be thrilled at their team giving up Sprong for nothing, the combination of what it may do for their reputation and the addition of Jonathan Lekkerimaki, their first round pick (15th overall) at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, to the main roster may be enough to quickly make them forget about the move.