News filtered out early Saturday morning that the Winnipeg Jets have been engaged in trade discussions regarding their top prospect in Rutger McGroarty, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The situation at hand is relatively similar to what the Philadelphia Flyers went through with Cutter Gauthier. The former 5th overall pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft informed the Flyers that he did not want to be apart of the organization and Daniel Brière and company diligently worked in the shadows to get a deal done.
The Gauthier trade shocked the hockey world after he was dealt to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. The Flyers were extremely tight-lipped in trade discussions and word never got out as Brière was looking for the best deal possible. In the end, he got a right-handed shooting defenseman who was drafted 6th overall during the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
As for the Jets, it seems like some of the issues that plagued Gauthier are resurfacing with McGroarty. Gauthier wanted to play for the Flyers but Brière and company believed it was best for his development to get another year under his belt at Boston College. The Jets were willing to sign McGroarty to a contract in April but couldn’t promise him a path to legitimate playing time – much to his chagrin. The Jets were more focused on their playoff run, which ended in 5 games after being defeated by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
McGroarty also saw his fellow Michigan teammates in Gavin Brindley, Dylan Duke, and Frank Nazar sign entry-level contracts at the conclusion of their season and get some actual playing time. Brindley appeared in one contest for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Duke was assigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, and Nazar recorded a goal in 3 games for the Chicago Blackhawks. Even going a little further back, his former teammates in Adam Fantilli and Luke Hughes made the leap to the NHL with their respective clubs as well.
After Brindley, Duke, and Nazar made the leap, McGroarty announced that he would be returning to the University of Michigan for the 2024-25 season – a decision that left the Jets’ fanbase concerned and for good reason. The Jets had a loaded top-9 and after acquiring Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli ahead of the trade deadline, it left very little room for McGroarty during the 2023-24 season. They even had Cole Perfetti languishing in a fourth line role once the playoffs rolled around.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had this to say about his decision to return to Michigan:
“We made it very open to him at the onset that we were more than willing to sign him, more than willing to turn him pro. But in the same token, we need him to make that decision for what he feels is best for his development,” Cheveldayoff said in May. “I think Rutger is looking for an even bigger role where he can help lead a team to greatness and help his development there.”
Simply put, there’s a clear disconnect between player and team instead of player and city, which at times has been a crutch for the Jets. Winnipeg didn’t want to stunt his development with a loaded NHL roster but McGroarty believed he was ready to make an impact right away. While their relationship didn’t rupture in April, it has definitely soured since the offseason began and it’s gotten to a point where a trade seems imminent.
McGroarty was drafted with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, 9 picks after Gauthier, one pick after Nazar, and 9 picks before Jimmy Snuggerud. In his draft season, he scored 15 goals and 33 points in 25 games for the U.S. National Development Team before scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 39 games in his first year with Michigan. This past season, he improved to the tune of 16 goals and 52 points in just 36 games played while adding 5 goals and 9 points in 7 games for the United States at the World Junior Championships, where he was also the captain.
Unlike Gauthier, McGroarty enjoyed the city of Winnipeg and the organization itself, and was excited about the prospect of playing for the Jets.
From The Athletic: “It does appear that is a situation where a good relationship between a prospect and his club became untenable. McGroarty is said to have enjoyed Winnipeg as a city and appeared to have a brilliant time at Jets development camp in 2023. His dad was seen wearing a Jets cap at the world juniors in Sweden and McGroarty was willing to sign a few months ago if NHL time was in the cards.
The league source tells The Athletic that McGroarty feels his path to the NHL is best suited in another organization.”
McGroarty represents the top prospect within the Winnipeg pipeline and while they have prospects like Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow, and Chaz Lucius in the mix, the Jets are in an unenviable position. The Flyers know all too well what it’s like and perhaps with some experience under his belt, Brière could be the perfect trade partner for Cheveldayoff and the Jets. The issue at hand will be trying to fend off the other 30 general managers who will be circling the Jets like vultures.
The Jets have exhibited a slow developmental path for a lot of their prospects in recent years, but trading McGroarty will sting a little more than when they parted ways with former first-rounder Ville Heinola or when they lost Declan Chisholm or Johnathan Kovacevic to waivers. The Jets enter trade conversations without much leverage considering the news has spread like wildfire. They will surely look to the Gauthier-Drysdale swap as a blueprint but with so many teams inquiring and involved, the Jets might actually make out better than anticipated.
31 teams will assuredly inquire and even if half of them balk, that would leave 15-16 teams still interested, create a buzz, and start a bidding war – which only increases the cost of acquisition. Will the Flyers be interested? They should be at the very least and while this screams “Cutter Gauthier vibes” the Flyers shouldn’t be deterred.
McGroarty had no issues with the Jets as an organization or the city itself, he just didn’t see a path to playing time after being rebuffed by the veteran-heavy lineup that Cheveldayoff had assembled. The Flyers have ushered into a rebuild, they’re looking for as many young and high-end talents as possible, and McGroarty fits their timeline like a glove. He’d have all the opportunities in the world to impress at the NHL level in Philadelphia, but can they assemble a trade offer that can topple the rest?
Murat Ates of The Athletic mentioned in his article that the Jets could be looking for a top-4 defenseman or an upgrade to their second-line centre. McGroarty would be another right-winger for the Flyers but the 6’2” power forward checks off almost every box for Brière and company. They’re going to have to pony up and any trade offer would have to start with either Joel Farabee or Morgan Frost.
With a Stanley Cup window that is currently open, the Jets will want players who can contribute as soon as possible and perhaps this is the change of scenery that finally gets Frost to reach his pinnacle. Farabee has also been mentioned numerous times as a player that is available by insiders like Friedman.
Defensively, the Flyers don’t really have too much to offer outside of potentially Oliver Bonk. Cam York will more than likely be off the table, Travis Sanheim would be too expensive for the Jets, and Drysdale is recovering from surgery so it would be surprising to see him on the move. Bonk is the best defensive prospect the Flyers have but would that be too much from Philadelphia’s end?
If the Jets are interested in draft capital, the Flyers have a plethora of picks in the first two rounds of the 2024 and 2025 drafts. They have the 12th overall pick and either the 31st or 32nd pick this year depending on Florida. They currently have their own second rounder and potentially Columbus’ as well – should they not defer to 2025. Next year, the Flyers are slated to have two first rounders and two seconds – which could be three depending on Columbus.
It would certainly still take quite a bit to get McGroarty out of Winnipeg, but the potential to pair him up with the incoming Matvei Michkov would be a very tantalizing idea. At the very least, Brière should inquire but just based off what we’ve seen so far from the 20-year-old, he has the makings of becoming a lethal power forward in the NHL.
