Penguins Send Sprong to Ducks for Pettersson

The Anaheim Ducks have acquired forward Daniel Sprong from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Marcus Pettersson.

Sprong generated a lot of hype in Pittsburgh coming into the season before quickly falling out of favour with head coach Mike Sullivan. A second-round pick by the Penguins in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Sprong enjoyed a breakout season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2017-18. The 21-year-old Amsterdam-native scored 32 goals and added 33 assists in his first AHL season.

After enjoying a successful pre-season alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, Sprong started the season on the Penguins’ top line. He quickly fell down the Penguins’ lineup and saw his ATOI dip to just 8:34, replaced on the first line mostly by Dominik Simon and Bryan Rust. He has no goals, four assists, and just 16 shots on goal in 16 games this season.

In exchange for Sprong, the Penguins get a defenseman once thought to have top-four potential in Pettersson. Drafted by the Ducks No. 38-overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Pettersson spent four seasons with Skelleftea AIK of the Swedish Elite League before making his NHL debut last season. He played admirably for the Ducks this season but was buried on the depth chart behind the likes of Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Montour, Cam Fowler, and Josh Manson. He has no goals and six assists in 27 games this season with an ATOI of 14:01.