Exploring options for Winnipeg's Rutger McGroarty.
The Jets have been taking calls for highly-touted prospect, Rutger McGroarty and will be able to possibly fill in more than one area of need with a sizeable returning package.
The 20-year-old Nebraska product has been sensational for the Michigan Wolverines with 34 goals and 57 assists for 91 points in 75 games over the past two seasons.
Some of the teams with interest in McGroarty’s talents are the Seattle Kraken, Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL's Utah franchise. Below, we explore some trade package each team could potentially put together.
Jets acquire: 8th overall pick in 2024 NHL Draft from Seattle Kraken
The Kraken have been linked to many potential goal-scorers like Columbus’ Patrik Laine and could use their 8th overall pick to acquire McGroarty. He would check a lot of the boxes that they were hoping to fill, as they get a goal scorer, who is very young and could flourish into one of the franchise’s first true superstars.
Last season, the Kraken had no 30-goal scorers and had just a single pair of 20-goal scorers. They are hungry to continue making the playoffs after getting a taste in their second season. They will need to find players, who can score and McGroarty should be a perfect fit.
Jets acquire Brady Skjei (sign-and-trade), 27th overall pick in 2024 NHL Draft from Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes could opt to continue their run of success while keeping their team young by acquiring McGroarty for one of their top-four defencemen like the rights to Brady Skjei along with their 27th overall pick.
This is a deal that works well for both sides, as McGroarty can fulfill the role previously assumed by Jake Guentzel, and the Jets can get the blueliner to round out their top-four defensive needs. They would also get to select another top-end talent with their new first round pick.
Skjei was Carolina’s top defenceman last season with 13 goals and 34 assists for 47 points in 80 games. At age 30, he may expect some term, but the Jets can iron out a deal that could work for both parties and operate a sign-and-trade that could help elevate the Jets’ backend to another level.
Jets acquire Sean Durzi (sign-and-trade), 38th overall pick in 2024 NHL Draft, 2nd round pick in 2025 from NHL Utah
The challenge of getting Durzi is that he is a restricted free agent this offseason. He has shown himself to be a decent 30-40 point producer with numbers going up every season, and is only 25-years-old.
He could be a great addition to the Jets' backend as a right-handed shot and could slide into the second pairing or even the top pairing with Josh Morrissey.
Utah is looking to continue adding pieces and a new face of the franchise to go alongside Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller and Josh Doan. Last season, they averaged a decent 3.10 goals per game with scoring coming from a number of places. They had one player who scored more than 30 goals (Keller), and five players who scored more than 20 goals.
It will be tough as the new club may opt to keep Durzi after finishing eighth-worst in goals against per game with a 3.10 average. This is something they can look to fill in free agency, however, as they have a lot of money to play with at $43.5 million in cap space.
Utah can add a player of the future in McGroarty while also going out and paying more than other teams can afford to get a defenceman like Detroit’s Shayne Gostisbehere or Florida’s Brandon Montour.