Jets swap rights to McGroarty for Penguins 1st-rounder Yager

The uncertainty surrounding Winnipeg Jets draft pick Rutger McGroarty is over.

McGroarty, 20, was drafted 14th overall by the Jets in 2022, but threw the team — and Winnipeg fans — for a loop this summer when he refused to sign with the Jets, reportedly due to a discrepancy over the path he was expected to take before becoming an NHL regular.

The Jets announced Thursday that they have traded the rights to McGroarty to the Pittsburgh Penguins for 19-year-old Brayden Yager — the Peguins’ own 14th-overall pick in 2023’s draft.

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Yager, a Saskatoon native, most recently played for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, helping to lead the club to a 2024 championship and recording 95 points in 57 games last season.

The six-foot, 170-pound forward has also represented Canada twice internationally, including a gold-medal victory in 2022’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

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Both McGroarty (United States) and Yager (Canada) played for their countries at the 2024 world junior hockey championship in Sweden.