A slow start has the Pittsburgh Penguins looking to shake things up. The latest NHL trade rumors have been gauging interest in Daniel Sprong.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, with four of those losses coming in regulation. Even though the Pens looked better against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in a 2-1 loss, they’ve still lost a bit too much lately. Before the game on NBCSN, NHL insider Darren Dreger dropped an NHL trade rumors nugget when he noted the Penguins are gauging interest in young forward Daniel Sprong.
Though the Pens had high hopes for Daniel Sprong after a solid 2017-18 AHL campaign, he has been one of the bigger offenders on a team lacking scoring depth. Head coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t trust him at all, as he plays under nine minutes per game.
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Sprong has four assists and zero goals, which is concerning considering a huge reason the Penguins believed so strongly in him was due to his goal scoring. The Penguins farm system is a bit shallow, so he’s still probably their most valuable prospect in a trade.
While Sprong is struggling mightily and Sullivan has little faith in him, it’s worth noting he’s only 21 years old. That’s going to intrigue teams hoping that a change of scenery will do him well. The Penguins will likely be looking to upgrade at wing, but they could use an upgrade on defense too.
Sprong was drafted by the Penguins in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. They had a ton of hope for him because of his ability to score. But thus far, Sprong’s ability to score hasn’t translated to the NHL yet.
The Penguins probably see what’s going on with Josh Ho-Sang and the New York Islanders. That’s a good story on how you should realize your mistakes before it’s too late to fix them. If Sprong is being shopped, he’s young enough that a variety of teams should express interest.
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