Former Penguins Winger Leaves NHL in Bold Career Move to Play Overseas

Back in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Penguins used their second round pick on a very promising winger out of the QMJHL in Daniel Sprong, and early in his career, he showed plenty of promise.

Unfortunately, in three seasons with the team, Sprong appeared in just 42 games with the team, tallying 4 goals in that time, with the organization quickly moving on from the talented young forward.

Since that point, he's bounced around seven times and is yet to find a true home in the NHL, spending the 2024/25 campaign split between Seattle and New Jersey as he looks to find a permanent home.

Now, that home is in Russia, as Sprong has reportedly signed a deal with CSKA Moscow in the KHL, confirming that after a decade, the 28-year old's NHL career has come to an end for now.

At 28, there's still plenty of time for Sprong to turn things around and push his way back onto an NHL team in the future, but after diminishing returns over the past few years, there's a chance that he could have already played his final game in the National Hockey League.

With his career high of 21 goals coming in 2022/23, it's easy to see the talent that's still there with Sprong, and the hope is that he can rekindle his fire and find that on a consistent basis, so now, we'll just have to wait to see how his season overseas plays out before making a judgement on his NHL future.