Confirmed Trade: [PIT/WPG] Rutger McGroarty for Brayden Yager

[heilongjetsfan]

They just did!

Technically they didn't

 

[JianYang]

Chevy seems to do his best work when he is backed into a corner.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Jets fan, I think we lost this bad. I think Yager is a real NHLer and I think he compliments the giant pack of basically ready prospects we've got, but McGroarty strikes me as a superstar in the making.

I also think this will be viewed in hindsight as a mistake by Rutger and his management. The Jets are (especially in the regular season) significantly more successful than the Pens in recent memory and I think he could have gone to a stronger organization if he played NHL hockey before the trade, thereby also increasing Chevy's return. Usually our GMs patience is much greater than my own but I was prepared to ride this all the way up to the 25 draft.

Oh boy do I hope you're correct.

 

[majormajor]

Funny to read the initial disappointment from Pens fans at the deal. McGroarty seems like the much better prospect to me. I'm bummed for the Jets!

Yager was like the 3rd or 4th best player on Moose Jaw, he's really unimpressive if he doesn't have a lot of open ice to work with. Very much a periphery guy who looks good in open space, but can't handle contact. NHLers like that get passed around on the cheap.

I don't think that will be the case for McGroarty, teams just don't give those guys up.

FWIW on the HF prospect polls we had McGroarty 27th, with Yager yet to be voted in at #42, quite possibly not going to make the top #50.

I understand the Jets were not in the best position with McGroarty but I would not have done this trade.

 

[villacco]

Very, very risky move for the Pens.
Right now the two players are as equal as it gets as propects. But one wanted out.
If Yager becomes the better player, this is gonna backfire pretty hard for Dubas.
You do not trade one for one equal prospects, when one is a head scratcher.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Funny to read the initial disappointment from Pens fans at the deal. McGroarty seems like the much better prospect to me. I'm bummed for the Jets!

Yager was like the 3rd or 4th best player on Moose Jaw, he's really unimpressive if he doesn't have a lot of open ice to work with. Very much a periphery guy who looks good in open space, but can't handle contact. NHLers like that get passed around on the cheap.

I don't think that will be the case for McGroarty, teams just don't give those guys up.

FWIW on the HF prospect polls we had McGroarty 27th, with Yager yet to be voted in at #42, quite possibly not going to make the top #50.

I understand the Jets were not in the best position with McGroarty but I would not have done this trade.

For the record, I wasn't disappointed because of the McGroarty acquisition or believing he was inferior to Yager. I was slightly bummed because I was hoping the Pens would have *both* guys in their prospect pool somehow because their prospect pool still needs more blue chippers.

 

[heilongjetsfan]

I really like McGroarty and on balance think he's a better prospect than Yager, but I think it was better to trade him now rather than ride it out until the 2025 draft. There's a reasonable chance that McGroarty's value would stagnate, and he might have severely limited the trade pool at that point by refusing to sign with any of the teams that might offer good trade value. I think it was prudent to make the move now, considering that Yager is close enough in value today, and secured for an extended period of time.

It's hard to disagree with any of this, but I can't shake the feeling that Rutger is going to do big things. Imo whether he reports to Pittsburgh's camp and turns pro or goes back to Michigan, my expectation is a huge season leading into an equally huge career.

My biggest complaint about Chevy has always been his hesitance to give prospects a chance to play. I don't think it's a good look to let prospects dictate all the specifics of their path, but if the preceding media reports about McGroarty's demands are accurate, guaranteeing him a spot probably wouldn't have cost us much qualitatively. Looking back at our 4th line and 13th forwards over the years, I bet he compares favourably even in a worst case scenario.

 

[heilongjetsfan]

Oh boy do I hope you're correct.

I dunno if Keith Tkachuk ever hooked up with a golden retriever but if he did this is the newest Penguin. Magnetic personality, clutchiness, leadership seemingly by accident.

 

[FlappyGiraffe]

It's hard to disagree with any of this, but I can't shake the feeling that Rutger is going to do big things. Imo whether he reports to Pittsburgh's camp and turns pro or goes back to Michigan, my expectation is a huge season leading into an equally huge career.

My biggest complaint about Chevy has always been his hesitance to give prospects a chance to play. I don't think it's a good look to let prospects dictate all the specifics of their path, but if the preceding media reports about McGroarty's demands are accurate, guaranteeing him a spot probably wouldn't have cost us much qualitatively. Looking back at our 4th line and 13th forwards over the years, I bet he compares favourably even in a worst case scenario.

Apparently Rutger just said that "he wasn't feeling it" and offered no further reasoning according to Chevy's presser lol

 

[Folignos Helmet]

I hope Lowry beats the punk out of McGroarty the first time they play.

I really liked Yager at the under 18s, haven’t followed him close since but I hope he excels in Winnipeg.

 

[Jetcetera]

It would be hilarious if McGroarty goes to Pittsburgh, plays shitty in his first few games and ends up getting sent down. Karmic justice

 

[biturbo19]

I don't really mind this for either end. Penguins obviously get the guy who is closer to the NHL to work better with their "old guys win now" window. Winnipeg gets a guy who isn't jerking them around wanting out, or wanting a guaranteed NHL roster spot, or whatever it is that he's aggrieved about to want a trade/refusing to sign. Yager also has a tiny chance at sticking as a Center eventually, which is a problem the Jets would presumably like to solve for the future. And potentially a guy who might be more amenable to sticking around Winnipeg.

Could be a sort of rare "win-win" prospect swap of high-end guys, rather than "change of scenery" last chance sort of guys.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Best case scenario is Rutger does well, Sullivan demotes him anyway and he speaks out and Dubas fires Sullivan.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Apparently Rutger just said that "he wasn't feeling it" and offered no further reasoning according to Chevy's presser lol

possibly trying to remain diplomatic about concerns he has about the operation WPG is running, or some sort of philosophical difference in prospect development.

I think in general it’s a naive to think we as outsiders are ever really going to get the full story when it comes to sensitive discussions that take place behind closed doors.

 

[orby]

On paper, this seems like a totally fair and mutually beneficial trade. Time will tell if that analysis holds up, but I think both teams did well considering their circumstances.

 

[SensontheRush]

Feel like WPG got the better player.

 

[John Mandalorian]

And certain fans thought their team could swing this deal with late 1sts and 2nds.

 

[Eyeseeing]

On paper, this seems like a totally fair and mutually beneficial trade. Time will tell if that analysis holds up, but I think both teams did well considering their circumstances.

As a Jets fan I was excited to have Rutger in our organization.
He seemed genuinely happy to be drafted by us.
Something in his camp soured him on us, probably the prospect of not being able to play in the NHL for likely a year or two based on our top 6
Rutger has made a bold play and I suspect he will do very well.
It will be interesting to watch him.

 

[surixon]

Funny to read the initial disappointment from Pens fans at the deal. McGroarty seems like the much better prospect to me. I'm bummed for the Jets!

Yager was like the 3rd or 4th best player on Moose Jaw, he's really unimpressive if he doesn't have a lot of open ice to work with. Very much a periphery guy who looks good in open space, but can't handle contact. NHLers like that get passed around on the cheap.

I don't think that will be the case for McGroarty, teams just don't give those guys up.

FWIW on the HF prospect polls we had McGroarty 27th, with Yager yet to be voted in at #42, quite possibly not going to make the top #50.

I understand the Jets were not in the best position with McGroarty but I would not have done this trade.

I don't think there is any shame to being the third best player on a stacked team with high end first round talent that was drafted the year before you (Savoie and Mateychuk). Those players had similar or better draft pedigree and an extra year of development on him. Fwiw I thought he was their second best player behind Mateychuk in the memorial cup. Points aren't everything and his strong two-way play facilitated a lot for his linemates. That is something Pens fans will come to appreciate about Rutger.

The same could be said of McGroarty the year before last when he was the third or so best player on a stacked Michigan team. Higher rated prospects like Fantilli and Hughes were on that team and better players.

I feel both have followed very similar trajectories to date. McGroarty looks a bit better right now because he's had that extra year of development and is closer to the NHL as a result.

I think this was a rare example of a win win trade. Both teams got similar assets that better align what the respective groups were looking for.

 

[forever1922]

This is the new meta for NHL deals. It's pretty exciting.

Still, it feels like a lot for the Pens to give up. No way Jets get this good of a deal unless it's from a bidding war.

 

[K Fleur]

These guys look to be about the same level of prospects and more importantly they both equally cool sounding names. Maybe a slight edge to Brayden Eren Jaeger.

 

[HBK27]

Jets were in a playoff race until the last game of the season. Nazar and Brindleynwere signed to teams that were long eliminated and could give them a tryout with zero consequences. He wanted a guaranteed spot ona playoff team and not earn the right to play especially when the Jets had Lambert and Chibrikov who played well all year for the Moose who earned that right. To put McG ahead of them in the line up is not how the Jets operate.

Not exactly.

Prior to the last game of the season, the Jets were already locked into the #2 seed in the Central and a 1st round matchup against Colorado.

Michigan's season ended on April 11th, so the maximum number of regular season games McGroarty could've played for the Jets last season was 3. Playing on the 13th with no practice time against the Avalanche (a team they were battling with for playoff position) would've been a stretch, but by the 2nd to last game on the 16th (at which point, the Jets needed 1 point in their last 2 games to lock in the 2 seed) he could've gotten a practice in and I doubt some 4th line minutes would've had too much of an impact either way and like I said already, Winnipeg had absolutely nothing on the line for their final game of the season so it would've been easy to get him in for that.

The prior season Luke Hughes went straight from Michigan to a Devils team in a playoff race and played right away at a more difficult position, so it's not at all unheard of.

They could've easily signed him, gotten him in that final game and who knows...after getting blown out in games 2-4 and scored 2 goals or less in each one, maybe they would've put him in the lineup to try to change things up a bit an generate offense.

This may be how "the Jets operate", but it clearly burned them in this situation. Fortunately, they were able to get a good return on the player.

So Winnipeg didn't feel right for McGroarty, but he going to sign with Pittsburgh prior to getting the feel for that franchise, makes sense.

Good hockey trade, didn't expect Jets to get the return. I would still put Chevy among the most boring GM's in the league. Still waiting for an exciting Jets to watch.

The "didn't feel right" comment is just what the agent said versus airing out the details of their decision, though it seems rather obvious why he soured on Winnipeg.

 

[Ulf5]

In a prospect for prospect trade, I always find it's concerning how both teams have a lot of knowledge about their own prospect but not much about the other guy since the draft. Here, PIT can't even be sure about the real story about McGroarty, nor Winnipeg about Yager.

McGroarty will be on the team all of Sid's and Geno's final years. Brayden was a long shot to make the team before Geno's contract expires the year after this one. Which you have to assume was part of Dubas' motivation for the trade.
The other aspect of the trade we saw with the Bunting acquisition I believe. The compete level on this team was lacking on this team many a night. Now with Bunting for a full season, McGroarty and Lizotte that should be less of an issue.
Both teams did well here. Sure, I was pissed we lost Yager too. But we have no clue what other teams were offering.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Funny to read the initial disappointment from Pens fans at the deal. McGroarty seems like the much better prospect to me. I'm bummed for the Jets!

Yager was like the 3rd or 4th best player on Moose Jaw, he's really unimpressive if he doesn't have a lot of open ice to work with. Very much a periphery guy who looks good in open space, but can't handle contact. NHLers like that get passed around on the cheap.

I don't think that will be the case for McGroarty, teams just don't give those guys up.

FWIW on the HF prospect polls we had McGroarty 27th, with Yager yet to be voted in at #42, quite possibly not going to make the top #50.

I understand the Jets were not in the best position with McGroarty but I would not have done this trade.

Before the trade obviously, a lot of us Pens fans were actually anticipating to see how he would do this season with the best players in MJ leaving junior hockey. I'm sure he will get traded at some point during the season, but it will be interesting to see how he does now that he should be the top line center there at least for a few months and what he does at the WJC

 

[JohanFranzenstein]

This is one of those moves that feels lateral right now (neither have NHL experience) but these dudes are going to be linked and compared for their entire careers.