McGroarty Entirely Changes Penguins Offseason, Outlook

For the first time in the salary cap era, and perhaps ever, the Pittsburgh Penguins had become a dumping ground for unwanted contracts. Instead of offloading salary or banging on the front doors of the top free agents to chase another Stanley Cup, selling salary cap space for draft picks became the strategy.

With respect to Cody Glass and Kevin Hayes, whom the Penguins acquired as cap castoffs because they came affixed with draft picks, Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas did not acquire them in the hopes they could elevate the team to the next level. No, the team acquired the pair because of the free gifts included.

Dubas wanted more draft picks, and with those trades, he got them. By acquiring Hayes and Glass and trading away Reilly Smith, Dubas added a pair of second-round picks and a pair of third-round picks.

The Penguins are also net one sixth-round pick.

Dubas also wanted more young players, but that had proven elusive until Thursday. As Dubas has done in his short Penguins tenure, he pulled off the big trade when he acquired disgruntled 20-year-old prospect Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for his own top prospect, Brayden Yager.

Dubas most likely upgraded from Yager to McGroarty but also changed the course of the Penguins’ offseason because his new top prospect will be ready to play this season, while Yager was probably a year or more away from skating on NHL ice.

It is a win-win for the Penguins, and with the successful trade, the Penguins lineup immediately took on a new look.

Unfortunately, exactly what that new look will be is very much a work in progress. Dubas currently has approximately 19 forwards on the roster who could play in the NHL, so coach Mike Sullivan might resort to a Hunger Games-style training camp to piece together the optimum lineup.

Some wonder if McGroarty is a right-wing or left-wing. College scouts told Pittsburgh Hockey Now that he played LW at the University of Michigan last season, but some of his bios listed him as RW. He is a left-handed shot, but that’s just another moving piece in the Penguins roster construction, which now has more moving parts than an automatic Swiss watch.

At worst, the Penguins have acquired a player who is probably capable of at least 15 goals this season, if not more, and capable of helping one of the power play units and generally providing tangible offensive benefits on the ice.

Now, the Penguins left side could be Drew O’Connor, Michael Bunting, and McGroarty. Or the right side could be Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and McGroarty.

Regardless of which side the newbie lines up, Dubas most likely added a player who will contribute more than the other wingers likely to line up in the top nine.

The third line was quite possibly Anthony Beauvillier-Kevin Hayes-Valtteri Puustinen. Now, it could be some combination of McGroarty-Hayes-Beauvillier.

The existing Penguins roster glut is more of a problem for the Fenway Sports Group accountants but will give Sullivan an opportunity to piece together a better lineup, although some trial and error may be necessary.

Regardless of Sullivan’s assembly, in one quick stroke, Dubas changed the trajectory of the Penguins’ offseason from underwhelming and just a little sad to optimistic.

Suddenly, improving seems more likely instead of less, and the young McGroarty could be around through the coming transition to the next phase if he earns it.

Penguins Notebook

–Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins assistant coach Kevin Porter landed on his feet. The US National Team Development program named him an assistant coach.

Porter played professionally for 12 years, including 43 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He joined WBS as an assistant in 2020, but the Penguins did not renew head coach J.D. Forrest or Porter’s contract for the coming season.

–The AHL has mandated neckguards for all players this season. The move comes amidst the death of former WBS Penguins forward Adam Johnson, who was tragically killed during a game in the English league. In May, British police announced the investigation into the death was continuing.