Prospect Info: Rutger McGroarty, 2022 NHL Draft, #14 Overall

[CorgisPer60]

This also squares with the timing.. it was 3 or 4 days after Michigan was eliminated that he announced he was going back

I'm gonna assume that there was immediate talks between his camp and chevy where he asked to be integrated in the line up but if I remember right, there just wasn't a chance

Also, was he looking for a game or two or did he want a spot on the playoff roster?

They went well into March with the Frozen 4. The Jets had maybe 12 games remaining by that point.

Wait, that doesn't sound right.

*checks*

Oh, April 11th was when Michigan was eliminated from the Frozen Four. Jets had 3 regular season games remaining. Yeah, no. Sorry, kiddo. You're not getting a guaranteed roster spot over Lambert, Chibrikov, or Perfetti.

 

[jetsmooseice]

They couldn't even fit a 20 goal young player in their lineup and this kid thinks he can step in for a top 4 team? No offense to him but f*** him. Completely unreasonable expectations and if that is all it took for him to bail then I greatly question his character.

At least he revealed his character before the team invested too much more in him.

I get wanting to draft the best player and everything but at what point do Chevy & Co. get fed up with whiny, entitled American players and start changing their approach a little?

 

[WaveRaven]

Weird 3 games and you say no so he packs up.

 

[Buffdog]

They went well into March with the Frozen 4. The Jets had maybe 12 games remaining by that point.

Wait, that doesn't sound right.

*checks*

Oh, April 11th was when Michigan was eliminated from the Frozen Four. Jets had 3 regular season games remaining. Yeah, no. Sorry, kiddo. You're not getting a guaranteed roster spot over Lambert, Chibrikov, or Perfetti.

Yup... and home ice advantage was still on the line heading into the Seattle game on the 15th

 

[Aries56]

Michigan was eliminated on April 11

Jets had 3 games left at that point. He wouldn't have made it into the Avs game on the 13th, which left 2 games

I guess at that point it depends on how much you value 1st round home ice advantage

IIRC, he announced he was going back to school on the 15th, so before the last two games

It might also be that he wanted a year burnt off his ELC so he could be a UFA sooner.

Nazar and Brindley got that from their clubs, he probably felt jaded for refusing to sign him and keep him an RFA 1 extra year.

 

[jokesondee]

At least he revealed his character before the team invested too much more in him.

I get wanting to draft the best player and everything but at what point do Chevy & Co. get fed up with whiny, entitled American players and start changing their approach a little?

Yeah maybe its time to move away from these U.S. college guys for awhile.

 

[tbcwpg]

It might also be that he wanted a year burnt off his ELC so he could be a UFA sooner.

Nazar and Brindley got that from their clubs, he probably felt jaded for refusing to sign him and keep him an RFA 1 extra year.

If it was just ELC year I'm sure the Jets would've been fine bringing him in and maybe even giving him some playoff games with the Moose.

 

[surixon]

If it was just ELC year I'm sure the Jets would've been fine bringing him in and maybe even giving him some playoff games with the Moose.

Yeah, they did it with Copp and essentially did it with Cole. They would have done it here as well.

It might also be that he wanted a year burnt off his ELC so he could be a UFA sooner.

Nazar and Brindley got that from their clubs, he probably felt jaded for refusing to sign him and keep him an RFA 1 extra year.

He wouldn't have become UFA earlier. You need to play 50 plus games to burn a year of UFA status.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I think its just a tactic from his agent to not put him in a bad light. Its bullshit in my opinion and the media ate it up

 

[jetsmooseice]

I think its just a tactic from his agent to not put him in a bad light. Its bullshit in my opinion and the media ate it up

So what is his real agenda?

 

[Joe Hallenback]

So what is his real agenda?

To go where he wants to be

 

[tbcwpg]

I think its just a tactic from his agent to not put him in a bad light. Its bullshit in my opinion and the media ate it up

If that's the case it's been done incredibly poorly. It still puts him in a bad light to say he wanted to play right away, especially on a team that finished 4th overall and still had something to play for for 81 games.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

If that's the case it's been done incredibly poorly. It still puts him in a bad light to say he wanted to play right away, especially on a team that finished 4th overall and still had something to play for for 81 games.

I think its a case of I don't want to play in Winnipeg for 7 years and I for sure as hell don't want to play in the AHL at all. There are teams out there that will play guys maybe when they shouldn't yet and they suffer for it. So he can go to Anaheim and play and maybe it will be ok or maybe hes Trevor Zegras

 

[CorgisPer60]

It might also be that he wanted a year burnt off his ELC so he could be a UFA sooner.

Nazar and Brindley got that from their clubs, he probably felt jaded for refusing to sign him and keep him an RFA 1 extra year.

That's not how it works. He would burn off the first year of his ELC, but you have to accrue at least 40 games as a pro before you get to burn a year towards UFA. Jets would still retain control for 7 RFA seasons.

 

[gojetsgo]

everything points to it being the reason given but I guess people must make up different reasons based on nothing at all...

 

[snowkiddin]

If that's the case it's been done incredibly poorly. It still puts him in a bad light to say he wanted to play right away, especially on a team that finished 4th overall and still had something to play for for 81 games.

Yeah, that’s even worse lol

 

[MardyBum]

The Leafs were tied for. . 5th in the NHL in 22-23 when they signed Knies and played him to end the season and 7 games in the playoffs (I think he got hurt iirc?) Rutger had a better season and higher draft profile. *shrug*.

 

[raideralex99]

"I’m gonna be really careful here because there are a lot of answers I don’t have. His family advisor is not talking and the Jets are not talking but the one thing I can tell you is that I have heard his name has come up in trade discussions," Elliotte Friedman said about McGroarty on the 32 Thoughts podcast Saturday.

"The Jets have discussed trading and other teams have discussed acquiring McGroarty’s rights...And again, I’m not gonna guess on anything here, but I’m simply going to say that I’ve heard his name has come up in trade conversations. So we’ll see where this all goes over the next couple of weeks. He’s a good player and he would be coveted.”

Spoken like a true gypsy fortune teller ... say basically nothing and let people believe want they want too.
Seriously replace McGroarty's name with McDavid or Bedard you can have the same story.
Friedman has to be careful what he says because he has no answers so a nothing burger and nobody from the McGroarty camp or the Jets camp is talking so what does that tell you ... nothing.
It's like saying the rumors are the Oilers are trying to trade Nurse so Chevy phones the Oilers and asks if McDavid is available ... its the same thing. Chevy trying to see what he can get for Ehlers and the teams are asking for McGroarty.

 

[tbcwpg]

Spoken like a true gypsy fortune teller ... say basically nothing and let people believe want they want too.
Seriously replace McGroarty's name with McDavid or Bedard you can have the same story.
Friedman has to be careful what he says because he has no answers so a nothing burger and nobody from the McGroarty camp or the Jets camp is talking so what does that tell you ... nothing.
It's like saying the rumors are the Oilers are trying to trade Nurse so Chevy phones the Oilers and asks if McDavid is available ... its the same thing. Chevy trying to see what he can get for Ehlers and the teams are asking for McGroarty.

Except other reporters like Murat have also written about this as truth.

 

[ps241]

If nothing else the McGroarty saga will make the draft runup more interesting, and if Chevy converts him into a top 10 pick all of a sudden the draft becomes a very important event.

Yes that would be exciting and I would need to scramble to catch up.

 

[ello]

The Leafs were tied for. . 5th in the NHL in 22-23 when they signed Knies and played him to end the season and 7 games in the playoffs (I think he got hurt iirc?) Rutger had a better season and higher draft profile. *shrug*.

Yup. I know guaranteeing a roster spot isnt a great team move, but unfortunately McGroarty has leverage that most prospects dont have. Just bite the bullet, get him in for a handful of games. If the Jets believed in their roster as much as they claimed then getting a talented rookie on for a couple late season games should have no impact on incoming playoffs.

I dont care about morals/culture or entitlement at this point. You knew what you were potentially getting into drafting a US NCAA player that high into a Canadian market. Do EVERYTHING you can to get him to sign then once he's inked you can deal with everything else. No one had to know that he was guaranteed games either, like just say that you wanted to see what you had in him for playoffs

Cherry on top is us getting destroyed in the first round so this was all for nothing

 

[jgimp]

At least he revealed his character before the team invested too much more in him.

I get wanting to draft the best player and everything but at what point do Chevy & Co. get fed up with whiny, entitled American players and start changing their approach a little?

There was no evidence of this prior to the draft. Every scout, every analyst said how much of a leader and character guy he was. It was a good pick, then, and now.
Hopefully Chevy can pull a rabbit out of his hat again and turn this into a win, but in all seriousness, he’s gotta be running out of rabbits.

 

[roccerfeller]

He never wanted to come to Winnipeg. He wanted out and watched his Buddy Cutter get his way and he wants the same thing. So fine trade him and get something. Its a shame because everything about this kid was about his leadership and well he just seems like someone that is entitled and wants what he wants and be dammed with anything else

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805291238448676987

I knew this was the reason. Won't mess with lineups late in the season. McGroarty is taking his ball elsewhere. I see both sides, and f*** everyone involved. So much for the vaunted character player.

They couldn't even fit a 20 goal young player in their lineup and this kid thinks he can step in for a top 4 team? No offense to him but f*** him. Completely unreasonable expectations and if that is all it took for him to bail then I greatly question his character.

super, super disappointing

 

[tbcwpg]

The Leafs were tied for. . 5th in the NHL in 22-23 when they signed Knies and played him to end the season and 7 games in the playoffs (I think he got hurt iirc?) Rutger had a better season and higher draft profile. *shrug*.

The Leafs also had very little to play for at that point. They were nailed on 2nd place against the Lightning.

 

[jgimp]

Just a shower thought. If it’s true that Chevy/Bowness were set on the roster and did not want to give him the 2 games after Michigan was eliminated for fear of losing out of home ice advantage (keeping in mind that Chib and Fly Jr got in for 1),does that 1 extra game that Chipman cashed in on, outweigh the loss in revenue that was clearly becoming what would have been a fan favourite? Jersey sales for 7 or 8 years, public appearances, Jets gear and everything else that Chipman “could” have milked it for. I think Rutger would have been an absolute gem here and brought some really good publicity to the city.
Not condoning what, if true, has happened. None of us will really know. But my gut tells me this may be short sighted but management.