Winnipeg Jets trade rights to McGroarty for Yager in prospect swap with Pittsburgh

The Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins swapped forward prospects Thursday, with the Jets landing Brayden Yager for the rights to Rutger McGroarty.

Yager was Pittsburgh's first-round pick, the 14th selection overall, in the 2023 NHL draft. McGroarty was the Jets' first-round pick and 14th overall in 2022.

Yager, a 19-year-old from Saskatoon, had 35 goals and 60 assists in 57 regular-season games for Moose Jaw last year. He added 11 goals and 16 assists to help his team win the Western Hockey League title.

He added six points in four games at the 2024 Memorial Cup and he was named to the tournament all-star team.

"We're very excited to add Brayden to the organization," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters on Thursday. "I think he's a very, very talented player at centre where he can certainly make other players better around him.

"Just because you don't end up drafting a player, you don't stop keeping tabs on him."

McGroarty had 16 goals and 36 assists in 36 games at the University of Michigan this past season.

Cheveldayoff said McGroarty's agent informed him during the draft combine in June that McGroarty "didn't intend to sign" with Winnipeg.

"That's the first inkling that we got [that]there was nothing that was going to come to fruition there," Cheveldayoff said. "We sat down and asked the agent why, and he didn't have an answer, he didn't have a reason.He just said he just didn't feel right. It started in development camp, where he just didn't feel right.

"I met with Rutger face-to-face several days later, and that was the same response as well."

Both Yager and McGroarty played in the world junior hockey championships in Sweden this year.

McGroarty was the captain of the United States and had five goals and four assists in leading his country to gold. Yager had two goals and three assists as Canada finished fifth.