As we enter NHL draft week, followed closely thereafter by free agency on July 1, there is a lot of noise surrounding Winnipeg Jets prospect Rutger McGroarty.
“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.”
As I run around trying to get organized for my early morning flight to Vegas on Monday, I wanted to drop a quick analysis on what I believe McGroarty’s value is in relation to the current draft class. I also feel it’s important to provide an example of what I would be looking for in return if I were trading McGroarty to another team.
THE CUTTER GAUTHIER COMPARISON
Assuming the Jets are taking calls on McGroarty, the immediate comparison to draw upon is the situation the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves in with top prospect Cutter Gauthier.
Gauthier was selected fifth overall in 2022. He and the Flyers had some sort of falling out and Philly decided to move him to the Anaheim Ducks for defenceman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025.
The Jets selected McGroarty 14th overall in the same draft.
Here’s how both prospect’s stats compare over the course of two seasons since they were drafted: