The Pittsburgh Penguins have been in a dire tailspin for the last few weeks, losing five games in a row including last night at the Washington Capitals. That’s created plenty of speculation about whether GM Jim Rutherford will make a move to address the roster in the coming days, given his propensity for making deals in the past. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio this morning talking about that, and mentioned that at least a small deal may be coming soon:
I don’t know that it’s going to be drastic. My sources yesterday [were] telling me that it might start with a smaller deal. You know Daniel Sprong, who is a 21-year old second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been you know, a limited player in the organization the last couple of seasons. He’s out there for trade.
Dreger went on to explain his belief that Rutherford will make a move at some point to try and put an end to the losing skid, noting that other teams like the Los Angeles Kings could be looking to shake up their rosters as well. It’s not the first time Sprong’s name has been included in trade talks, given the fact that he still hasn’t established himself as an everyday player in Pittsburgh. That’s something that the organization was clear about wanting last spring, when Rutherford himself said that Sprong would be a “regular” in the lineup. He’s played in 12 of 14 games for the Penguins this season, but logged fewer than ten minutes of ice time in eight of them.
Still, there’s reason to believe that Sprong would still hold considerable trade value. The 21-year old forward scored 65 points in 65 games as an AHL rookie last season, and put up huge totals in the junior ranks of the QMJHL. Selected 46th overall in 2015, there’s still plenty of upside in the talented forward that could bring some more established talent back to Pittsburgh.
Giving up on a young prospect isn’t exactly ideal, but the Penguins know they are in the middle of their competitive window with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel all quickly nearing the end of their most effective years. Rutherford has a reputation for making big positional changes in-season, and is never one to wait until the deadline to go after the player he is targeting. It’s not clear who Pittsburgh would want in any Sprong deal, but you can be sure the Penguins will make some sort of move before the season is out. Knowing that, there’s no doubt that teams are calling on Sprong to see if they can extract the talented young forward. Whether they can pry him out of Rutherford’s grasp is still to be seen.
I think moving Sprong would be a huge mistake. But he’s really their only trade piece unless they are willing to move Jarry.
I agree. Would be a big mistake. They’re definitely better off moving a piece like Jarry to acquire some help to shake up the team.
And if/when Murray gets injured again and needs to be put on LTIR, who is called up? I don’t think people wanting to put Jarry on the trade block understand that. Daniel Sprong is nothing more than an AHL goal scorer. Sully has NO confidence in him and that should account for something. His two-way game is terrible. The canned excuse by Pens fans is he is playing on the fourth line. Well, you have to earn time with Sid and Geno. The kid won a spot on the roster by default because the Pens couldn’t send him down without him being claimed. People who think its a huge mistake to trade him aren’t paying attention. He doesn’t command much of a return at all.
And Murray looks awful to begin season. Moving Jarry might be bad idea
Absolutely. I don’t blame Murray for all the goals he has allowed. He has been hung out to dry by lack of effort performances, but he needs to stop some of those that went in. Personally, I wouldn’t be stunned if the Pens moved him once he regains his game. Trading Jarry doesn’t bring back anything but a pick. Trading a better Murray, not only clears 3.75 million off the cap, but could bring a much better return.
Daniel Sprong is Markus Naslund 2.0.
We all knew Naslund would be a star but we also knew the coach here wasn’t going to play him.
Let’s just try to get more in return this time.
Sprong and a pick to Dallas for Julius Honka and Denis Gurianov. That would be my first call if I were JR.
Let’s hold the fort on Sprong is Markus Naslund talk. Naslund had a much better game coming up than Sprong. Everyone knew that. I have equaled Sprong to Derek Pouliot. That is who I think he is.
If we could swindle that from Dallas, I would. That pick better not be a first or second. We need to keep out better picks now to build the farm. Our best player in the system won’t be here for two to three years, IMO, the kid from Sweden.