ICYMI: Two trades in the NHL today

In case you missed it, there have been two separate transactions in the NHL this morning.

Up first: The Toronto Maple Leafs have shipped 25 year old forward Josh Leivo to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for AHL forward Michael Carcone.

Leivo has just four goals and six points through 27 games with the Leafs this season, after spending most of the 2017-18 campaign in the press box as a healthy scratch. With the Leafs signing star forward William Nylander yesterday afternoon, you just knew that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas would be forced to make a move up front or risk losing a player like Leivo for nothing on waivers. As it turns out, the Leafs at least get a player back for the AHL Toronto Marlies in Carcone, but one that doesn’t project to be a regular NHL player. To be fair though, the 22 year old Carcone has six goals and 17 points in just 20 games with the Canucks AHL affiliate Utica Comets this season, so there’s a chance that the kid could develop into a real player. If nothing else though, he provides the team with some good minor league depth.

In our second trade this afternoon the Pittsburgh Penguins shipped top prospect Daniel Sprong to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Marcus Pettersson. 

The 21 year old Sprong was one of the top scorers in the AHL last season with 32 goals and 65 points in 65 games with the Penguin’s AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. This season with the NHL’s Penguins though, Sprong has just four assists in 16 games. As for Pettersson, the 22 year old defenseman has six assists in 27 games with the Ducks and has established himself as a regular, everyday NHL defenseman. He should fit in nicely on the Penguins’ bottom pairing moving forward.