Pittsburgh Penguins: What the Rutger McGroarty Trade Means Moving Forward

This past Thursday, August 22, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Winnipeg Jets made an interesting 1-for-1 trade. Pittsburgh acquired Rutger McGroarty from Winnipeg for Brayden Yager. McGroarty was the 14th overall pick by the Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft and Yager was the 14th overall pick for Pittsburgh in the 2023 NHL Draft. Rutger McGroarty expressed concerns about what his future would look like in Winnipeg after the Jets failed to sign him to an entry-level deal.

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McGroarty Landed Deal When Traded

When he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was able to land a three-year entry-level deal with the team. It will be interesting to see where he will play this season. He may be on Pittsburgh’s opening night roster rather than playing with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. Rutger McGroarty was going to return to the Michigan Wolverines for the 2024-2025 collegiate hockey season, but the new entry-level deal changed his plans entirely. Kyle Dubas said to Emily Kaplan of ESPN about trading away Brayden Yager for him:

“We had a difficult decision to make with this trade because we hold Brayden Yager in such a high regard as a person and prospect. After much consideration, we decided that the opportunity to add Rutger McGroarty was ultimately in the best interest of the Penguins. Rutger possesses the combination of ability, leadership and competitiveness that the Penguins need to achieve our goals in the short and long run. We look forward to welcoming Rutger and his family to the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins.”

Yager is only 19 years old. He has spent the last four seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL. Brayden Yager played in 57 games and scored 35 goals and recorded 60 assists. His plus/minus rating was 19. In 20 postseason games with the Warriors, Brayden Yager scored 11 goals and recorded 16 assists. His plus/minus in the postseason was 10. This was a good prospect that the Pittsburgh Penguins gave up, but Rutger McGroarty is going to be a better player in the long run and is more NHL-ready than Yager is.

McGroarty is only 20 years old. Last season with the Michigan Wolverines, he played in 36 games. Rutger McGroarty scored 16 goals and recorded 36 assists. His plus/minus rating was 17. In seven games as the team captain for the USA U20 team at the WJC, he scored five goals and recorded four assists, along with a plus/minus rating of 8. If McGroarty does crack the opening night roster for the Pittsburgh Penguins, he has a chance to win the Calder Trophy this season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins need some youth in their lineup badly. With not having Jake Guentzel around anymore as Sidney Crosby’s sidekick, Rutger McGroarty could be the new sidekick Sidney Crosby needs. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell are not getting any younger. Other than Rutger McGroarty, Drew O’Connor could have another good season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Rutger McGroarty is a player that head coach Mike Sullivan would love to have in the lineup this season.

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Article originally written by Glenn Kaplan