Rutger McGroarty was selected 14th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets. A year later, Brayden Yager was chosen in the same spot by the Pittsburgh Penguins. On Thursday the two were swapped for each other in a one-for-one deal. Shortly after the deal, it was announced that McGroarty signed his entry-level contract.
It has been rumored for a few months that McGroarty, a teammate of Lightning prospect Dylan Duke in college, wasn’t happy with how Winnipeg had handled his development and wasn’t going to sign with them. Prior to the deal, McGroarty had intended on returning to the University of Michigan for another season despite not really having anything to prove at the collegiate level. Now he’ll have the chance to to earn a spot on a Penguins team that desperately needs a shot of youth in its line-up. The Athletic had him ranked 33rd in their top 100 NHL-drafted prospects and believe he’ll have a decent career as a second-liner.
In order to acquire him, Pittsburgh had to sacrifice their top prospects in Yager (who played with Conor Geekie at the U20 World Junior Championship). While not projected to have as much impact as McGroarty, the center was ranked #58 by our friends in New York. The 19 year-old will likely head back to the Moose Jaw Warriors for one more season at the junior level (he put up 95 points in 57 games last season). However, with key offensive contributors like Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafello set to be free agents after this season, a spot could open up for him pretty quickly.
In the short term, Pittsburgh is probably the early winner for this deal because McGroarty is considered the better prospect, but this could be the type of deal where both sides win. Winnipeg also did a pretty good job of getting a highly-regarded prospect back for a player who didn’t want to play for them.
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