Jets GM Puts Agent On Blast Over Rory McGroarty’s Mysterious Saga

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff didn’t mince words when addressing the surprising refusal of 2022 1st-round pick Rutger McGroarty to sign with the team after the franchise drafted him with the No. 14 selection. Cheveldayoff talked to media members on August 22, revealing that McGroarty’s camp, led by agent Pat Brisson, offered no explanation for the player’s decision to reject the Jets’ offer and never sign an entry-level deal.

“We were at the draft combines and got a text from his agent that he wanted to meet,” Cheveldayoff said, via Connor Hrabchak of The Hockey Writers. “He informed us that Rutger had said that he didn’t intend to sign. That’s the first inkling that we got that there was nothing that was going to come to fruition there. We sat down and asked the agent why, and he said he didn’t have an answer. He didn’t have a reason.” This lack of clarity left Cheveldayoff perplexed. “I went through a litany of questions to the agent to see – was it player development? Was it that we didn’t burn a year [off his entry-level contract]? He said no, no, no, it just didn’t feel right.” Murat Ates of The Athletic reported on June 22 that a league source told the outlet that “McGroarty feels his path to the NHL is best suited in another organization.”

Before that report dropped, on April 15, McGroarty committed to play his junior season at Michigan despite teammates Gavin Brindley and Frank Nazar signing with the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks, respectively, as reported by Ates on The Athletic. Despite the setback and losing his prospect and former 1st-round pick, Cheveldayoff managed to turn the situation around by acquiring another promising forward prospect, Brayden Yager, in a “win-win trade” with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While Yager may not be as NHL-ready as McGroarty, the 19-year-old has the potential to fill the Jets’ long-standing need at the second-line center position as early as the 2025–26 season.