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

[Channelcat]

I suspect that it's a simple case of Rutger looking at the Jets roster and determining he'd have a better chance of playing elsewhere. Which is accurate. As a Jets fan, I've got no problem with that. Pitt gets a slightly better player, Jets get fair return considering the circumstances. Nice hockey deal.

 

[Ezpz]

This will be another hodgson kassian trade where neither player is worth talking about.

 

[Boxertim]

Interesting how this trade happened right after the Liane trade. Was it the Jets or the Pens who were in on Laine and then moved on….

 

[Suntouchable13]

Interesting how this trade happened right after the Liane trade. Was it the Jets or the Pens who were in on Laine and then moved on….

Why would Chevy want Laine back in the Jets lockeroom? Pittsburgh most likely.

 

[pictman]

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.



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.

The Jets offered him a contract. The reply was they weren't interested. I'm not sure on the timing of the offer.
I also don't buy the " It didn't feel right " at development camp last year. The kid was super excited to be there. I believe all the hype surrounding him since then went to his ( and his camps) head. Plainly , he believes Winnipeg isn't big enough for him.
As far as the trade, it's a fair deal for both teams.

 

[Ford Prefect]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but puckpedia has stated that RM has already signed his ELC. Signed it yesterday.

Rutger McGroarty Contract, Cap Hit, Salary and Stats | Puckpedia

See the latest contract, injury news, and transactions for Rutger McGroarty including cap hit, AAV, salary, signing bonus, clauses, and agent on PuckPedia.

puckpedia.com

 

[HBK27]

The Jets offered him a contract. The reply was they weren't interested. I'm not sure on the timing of the offer.
I also don't buy the " It didn't feel right " at development camp last year. The kid was super excited to be there. I believe all the hype surrounding him since then went to his ( and his camps) head. Plainly , he believes Winnipeg isn't big enough for him.
As far as the trade, it's a fair deal for both teams.

The timing of the offer is important though - big difference if it was offered during the 2023-2024 season when he could've burned a year off his ELC and maybe even played some games (which several of his Michigan teammates received) versus after the season was over.

The "it didn't feel right" is not a serious quote - it's just a way of the agent glossing over the actual details (which would surely get leaked) of why they made their decision to move on from Winnipeg. Clearly something happened (likely the lack of contract offer after Michigan's season ending and seemingly a lack of confidence in him, as there was talk about him possibly spending next season in the AHL) that soured him on Winnipeg - particularly as all indications from being drafted to attending development camps was that he was excited at the prospect of playing for the Jets.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Canadian teams shouldn't draft NCAA Americans.

Seems rare that they play for the teams that draft them.

You mean like Kyle Connor?

 

[nturn06]

One of these days Dubas may learn that negociating doesn't mean giving whatever the other guy asks

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Huge blow to the Wolverines, would change them from solid in the tournament team to likely outside the top 14-16 of the Pairwise

That's what they said LAST year when players like Hughes left. The downside of recruiting stepping stone players.

 

[Ulf5]

The timing of the offer is important though - big difference if it was offered during the 2023-2024 season when he could've burned a year off his ELC and maybe even played some games (which several of his Michigan teammates received) versus after the season was over.

The "it didn't feel right" is not a serious quote - it's just a way of the agent glossing over the actual details (which would surely get leaked) of why they made their decision to move on from Winnipeg. Clearly something happened (likely the lack of contract offer after Michigan's season ending and seemingly a lack of confidence in him, as there was talk about him possibly spending next season in the AHL) that soured him on Winnipeg - particularly as all indications from being drafted to attending development camps was that he was excited at the prospect of playing for the Jets.

“We were at the draft combines and got a text from his agent (Pat Brisson) that he wanted to meet… he informed us that Rutger had said that he didn’t intend to sign,” Cheveldayoff said (via Connor Hrabchak of The Hockey Writers). “That’s the first inkling that we got that there was nothing that was going to come to fruition there. We sat down and asked the agent why, and he said he didn’t have an answer. He didn’t have a reason. I went through a litany of questions to the agent to see – was it player development? Was it that we didn’t burn a year [off his entry-level contract]? He said no, no, no, it just didn’t feel right.”

Cheveldayoff: Jets Never Received Reason For Rutger McGroarty's Unwillingness To Sign

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke to members of the media yesterday, including Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press, …

www.prohockeyrumors.com

 

[SirKillalot]

In what way is Chevy boring? That seems like an outdated take...

Chevy's been one of the most active GMs over the past few seasons.

Laine for PLD
Copp for Barron, Lambert, Salomonsson, Milic
PLD for Vilardi, Iafallo, Kupari, Freij
2nd for Neiderreiter
1st for Monahan
3rd for Toffoli
McGroarty for Yager

He's been one of the more active GMs in the NHL and last off-season the Jets went from a team that many thought was going into some sort of rebuild, Chevy pulled off the PLD trade, re-signed Scheifele and Hellebuyck (and Neiderreiter), and the Jets reeled off a 110-point season.

I mean the teams he put together isn't very interesting to watch when it comes to hockey style for me. Yes they had some seasons where they got lots of points, but roster wise / playing style wise not many exciting players to watch or fun hockey. Grind hockey, sure. Conservatively building his teams.

 

[tbcwpg]

I mean the teams he put together isn't very interesting to watch when it comes to hockey style for me. Yes they had some seasons where they got lots of points, but roster wise / playing style wise not many exciting players to watch or fun hockey. Grind hockey, sure. Conservatively building his teams.

I think that's recency bias. The team filled the net under Maurice but couldn't defend. They brought in Bowness to improve team defence and it made them a bit more boring but if you watch a game or two they still bleed chances against.

 

[surixon]

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.



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.

I believe he informed them prior to that game he was going back to school. I'm sure the Jets would have had no issue signing him and playing him that game if he was interested.

 

[tbcwpg]

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.



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.

I don't think it was burning the year or getting him into games. I think if the issue was that and wanting NHL time it would be advantageous for Winnipeg to publicly say they want players to earn ice time etc. Sends the right message.

 

[surixon]

I mean the teams he put together isn't very interesting to watch when it comes to hockey style for me. Yes they had some seasons where they got lots of points, but roster wise / playing style wise not many exciting players to watch or fun hockey. Grind hockey, sure. Conservatively building his teams.

When you don't get many lottery picks it's hard to find that high end exciting/elite talent.

The team also prefers the more Cerebral positioning type players at the draft anyhow.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

This will be another hodgson kassian trade where neither player is worth talking about.

Be interesting to know if this would have been your take if RG got traded to the Habs for 2024 21st OA +?.

 

[Whileee]

I mean the teams he put together isn't very interesting to watch when it comes to hockey style for me. Yes they had some seasons where they got lots of points, but roster wise / playing style wise not many exciting players to watch or fun hockey. Grind hockey, sure. Conservatively building his teams.

I dunno... I think that's more of a coaching issue. Maurice and Bowness both coach very conservative styles.

Chevy gave them players like Ehlers and Perfetti, but those coaches put them in limited roles and play other players like Appleton, more. Jets scored 6 fewer goals than Florida, and tied with them in goals against (lowest in the NHL). Not a coincidence that they focused on defensive / conservative styles with Maurice coaching Florida and Bowness coaching the Jets.

When you don't get many lottery picks it's hard to find that high end exciting/elite talent.

The team also prefers the more Cerebral positioning type players at the draft anyhow.

Still, Chevy has drafted a lot of exciting talent...

Scheifele, Morrissey, Connor, Ehlers, Laine, Perfetti, Lambert, Lucius, McGroarty, Barlow, etc.

 

[surixon]

The timing of the offer is important though - big difference if it was offered during the 2023-2024 season when he could've burned a year off his ELC and maybe even played some games (which several of his Michigan teammates received) versus after the season was over.

The "it didn't feel right" is not a serious quote - it's just a way of the agent glossing over the actual details (which would surely get leaked) of why they made their decision to move on from Winnipeg. Clearly something happened (likely the lack of contract offer after Michigan's season ending and seemingly a lack of confidence in him, as there was talk about him possibly spending next season in the AHL) that soured him on Winnipeg - particularly as all indications from being drafted to attending development camps was that he was excited at the prospect of playing for the Jets.

The Jets have had no issue burning a year on elc's for young players. Did it for Copp who was in a similar situation.

 

[Huffer]

“We were at the draft combines and got a text from his agent (Pat Brisson) that he wanted to meet… he informed us that Rutger had said that he didn’t intend to sign,” Cheveldayoff said (via Connor Hrabchak of The Hockey Writers). “That’s the first inkling that we got that there was nothing that was going to come to fruition there. We sat down and asked the agent why, and he said he didn’t have an answer. He didn’t have a reason. I went through a litany of questions to the agent to see – was it player development? Was it that we didn’t burn a year [off his entry-level contract]? He said no, no, no, it just didn’t feel right.”

Cheveldayoff: Jets Never Received Reason For Rutger McGroarty's Unwillingness To Sign

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke to members of the media yesterday, including Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press, …

www.prohockeyrumors.com

And you can add to that quote made recently by Chevy to one earlier this summer where he said they wanted to sign Rutger at the end of last season.

 

[surixon]

I dunno... I think that's more of a coaching issue. Maurice and Bowness both coach very conservative styles.

Chevy gave them players like Ehlers and Perfetti, but those coaches put them in limited roles and play other players like Appleton, more. Jets scored 6 fewer goals than Florida, and tied with them in goals against (lowest in the NHL). Not a coincidence that they focused on defensive / conservative styles with Maurice coaching Florida and Bowness coaching the Jets.


Still, Chevy has drafted a lot of exciting talent...

Scheifele, Morrissey, Connor, Ehlers, Laine, Perfetti, Lambert, Lucius, McGroarty, Barlow, etc.

I agree, but they are exciting in different ways imo. Other then Ehlers and Connor they aren't super flashy that are going to do end to end rushes ala Mack/Makar etc.

They burn you more in terms of rotations, positioning and picking their spots. It's the type of player i like BTW. Our offensive schemes could definitely be updated to play more to their strengths.

 

[HBK27]

The Jets have had no issue burning a year on elc's for young players. Did it for Copp who was in a similar situation.

That was 9 years ago after he spent 3 seasons in the NCAA.

The landscape of the NHL has also changed vastly since then - younger players coming off ELC's as RFA's are now signing for much larger percentages of the cap than they were back in 2015.

 

[Ezpz]

Be interesting to know if this would have been your take if RG got traded to the Habs for 2024 21st OA +?.

Considering we didn't even offer the 21st because the scouts preferred Hage straight up that is an interesting hypothetical situation.

He might rise to a maybe second liner in that case.

Both kassian and hogdson had 1-2 good years but hfboard acted like Crosby and ovechkin were swapped.

 

[pth2]

But we have no clue what other teams were offering.

We can make informed guesses, though.

I'd suggest Montreal offered #21 this year and Harris. Harris was clearly on the trading block, and Montreal had a plan to move the pick if their plan A (picking Hage) wasn't available.

 

[surixon]

That was 9 years ago after he spent 3 seasons in the NCAA.

The landscape of the NHL has also changed vastly since then - younger players coming off ELC's as RFA's are now signing for much larger percentages of the cap than they were back in 2015.

That's fine. I'm sure the Jets that have an issue retaining/attracting talent would have made the decision to burn the year to retain him if he was interested and worry about his second contract whenever it came up.