Rutger McGroarty Gets Humbled by Penguins Decision to Cut Him From Team

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Liam McCormick
October 16, 2024 (1:41 PM)

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Rutger McGroarty was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of 2022 and quickly demanded a trade to get NHL ice time, which he now may regret after being cut from the team.

According to new reports from NHL insider Chris Johnston, the Penguins are sending down McGroarty to the AHL.

After not making the Jets roster in the 2023-24 season, McGroarty returned to play College Hockey in the States, and requested a trade in the offseason. According to a report from the Hockey News, McGroarty wanted guarantees of NHL ice time that the Jets were unwilling to give to the player.

McGroarty is looking for assurances and guarantees that he'll be in the NHL and get his share of ice time. As a result, it's been difficult for teams to trade for him, as there's a "sense of entitlement.»
- The Hockey News

McGroarty at least got his opportunity this time, playing 3 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being sent to the AHL. In those three games, McGroarty registered no points, was a -3, and was notably deked out of his pants by Toronto's Max Domi. There was a hint that he could be cut from the team based off Pittsburgh moving him down the lineup in preseason, and now it's official that McGroarty will be humbled with a trip to the minors.

Many Winnipeg Jets fans and hockey fans alike were put off by McGroarty's demands for NHL ice time and even power play opportunities before playing his first professional game. Prospects need to earn their way up the lineup and onto the biggest stage, it's never an opportunity just handed out.

Now sent down to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, McGroarty will be riding the bus and learning some lessons in becoming a professional athlete before he's called back up to the NHL.