20-year-old forward Rutger McGroarty, who was drafted 14th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2022 is supposedly uninterested in signing with the club, leaving Winnipeg in a position where they have to deal their top prospect.
The Flyers probably had a bout of some PTSD when these rumors hit as they just dealt with a near identical situation with 2022 fifth overall pick Cutter Gauthier. But rather than being the victim of it, can they capitalize on this situation?
McGroarty is a left-shot right winger who posted 52 points in 36 games at the University of Michigan during 2023-24, his sophomore season with the program. It sounds as though he has planned to return to college rather than join the Jets as they could not promise NHL minutes for the 20-year-old forward.
The Flyers’ forward group in the pipeline is un-intimidating at best and bone dry at worst. Outside of the newly-added Matvei Michkov, there’s not much talent of note, which is why failing to retain Cutter Gauthier was such a major loss in the first place.
So what will the Jets look for as a return for their top prospects?
Over the last handful of years, the Jet have been able to put together some decent regular seasons, but are quickly dispatched in the postseason with consecutive first round exits to the Golden Knights in 2023 and the Avalanche in 2024. One has to assume they’re interested in staying competitive rather than rebuilding, which means main roster talent could be their desired return in a trade.
While the Flyers may not be oozing main roster talent at the moment, they do have a few different players that could be of intrigue to the Jets. The obvious suggestion is a trade based around Travis Konecny, but considering he’s entering the last year of his contract, the Jets may not have interest if he doesn’t ink an extension upon arrival. That means the Flyers’ next best bet would probably be Joel Farabee, a 24-year-old winger with four years left on his contract at a $5 million cap hit.
The Jets could theoretically trade McGroarty to the Flyers and he could still refuse to sign with his new club. We saw a similar situation unfold with Adam Fox a few years back. One has to assume a potential trade wouldn’t go down unless there’s some inkling that he’d sign in Philly.
There’s been some concern from the fans that since Gauthier and McGroarty are from the same USNTDP class that there would be shared distain for the Flyers organization. And that could possibly be true, but it’s not a guarantee. There’s a better chance a dinosaur like Tortorella snatching away ice time at every available opportunity if McGroarty doesn’t backcheck is more likely to scare him away than Gauthier. It’s like when Kevin Hayes got blamed for Gauthier. It’s some screwed up daisy chain where his friend’s opinion theoretically matters more than his own intuition.
There’s nothing wrong with players excising their right to not sign with a team. It kinda defeats the entire purpose of the draft, but if it’s a loophole in the system, then go ahead and exploit it. There’s so little movement in the modern day NHL that if this becomes the new way young potential stars move teams then the Flyers, along with every other team, will just have to adapt to it rather than blackball the players that utilize it.
Trading for McGroarty is the exact kind of move the Flyers should be heavily considering. If they want to walk a fine line between rebuilding and competing, finding young former first round picks to add to the cause that they don’t actually have to draft themselves is a great way of doing that. Obviously Winnipeg’s asking price and McGroarty’s own interests play a major role in a potential deal, but if the former 14th overall pick is open to it, there’s no reason to not take a chance adding someone who could be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: sportsnet.ca
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