For a 21-year-old who has loved playing hockey since he could walk, Daniel Sprong looked absolutely miserable sitting at his locker stall Monday morning.
As a healthy scratch, Sprong was the last player to leave the ice, long after a couple thousand school children left the open practice at PPG Paints Arena. Frustrated and exhausted, he jokingly offered Juuso Riikola $100 to untie his skate laces. Then, he turned his baseball cap backward over his head and slumped into his seat to begin what turned out to be his last interview while a member of the Penguins.
A few hours later, Sprong was traded to the Ducks for Marcus Pettersson, a 22-year-old, 6-foot-3, 177-pound, left-shot defenseman, ending weeks of speculation of where the once-prized prospect would land.
Pettersson, Anaheim's second-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, has appeared in 27 games this season, recording six assists and 17 penalty minutes while averaging 14:01 of ice time. He played in six games last season, posting four points, including his first career goal April 3 with an assist from future teammate Derek Grant:
He also appeared in all four of Anaheim's playoff games last season and, before that, in 44 AHL games for San Diego, registering 14 assists. He can be a restricted free agent at season's end.
It's not immediately clear whether the Sprong trade is the last deal that Jim Rutherford will make. The GM told DKPittsburghSports.com on Monday that nothing was imminent. But the Sprong trade was certainly expected.
"This is a tough decision," Rutherford told me on Monday. "A young player that has the upside that he has to score, but my concern was that where he is presently in this season in his development, does that go backward at some point in time? He had the good year, last year in the American League. Sully gave him the right opportunity in camp with Sid for a few preseason games, which hopefully would have gotten him started with some big confidence, a couple goals. Then we get into the season and he's in and out of the lineup, understandably, because on our right side it's tough cracking the top nine."
"It got to the point where he wasn't going to be in a situation to continue to develop the way he should."
Indeed, Sprong scored 32 goals in 65 AHL games in 2017-18 and was finally expected to make the jump to the NHL full-time this season. But after a less-than-impressive training camp, Sprong quickly fell out of favor with Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff.
"It's out of my control, that's the coaching staff and his decision," Sprong said of his frustrations on Monday.
The 2015 second-round pick played sparingly this season, recording just four assists in 16 games. Though he possesses a lethal release, Sprong not only didn't score, he had just 16 shots on goal this season. Unable to crack a spot in the Penguins' top six, Sprong quickly became expendable.
Asked Monday why he thought he wasn't playing, Sprong responded, "That's my opinion. I'll keep that to myself."
Sprong didn't have a point in the Penguins' 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Nov. 24 but he thought he had played a good game while working on a fourth line with Riley Sheahan. Instead of building off that performance, he was then a healthy scratch for the next three games.
"I felt good but ... " Sprong said, his voice trailing off. "I think our line had some good scoring chances. That two-on-one in the first, and in the second I thought we had good looks as well. But I thought I played well. I thought our line played well. But it is what it is."
