Trade Analysis: Jets Trade McGroarty For Penguins Yager

Was this a Fair Trade between Winnipeg and Pittsburgh: McGroarty for Yager

The big news on Thursday involved Rutger McGroarty, as the Winnipeg Jets sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for prospect Brayden Yager.

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joined Laura Daikun on SportsCentre to discuss the trade involving McGroarty for Yager as the Winnipeg Jets and the Pittsburgh Penguins exchange prospects.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

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Laura Diakun: “Welcoming in our Director of Scouting now, Craig Button and Craig Thursday’s trade between Winnipeg and Pittsburgh brought you by the number 14 because both prospects were selected 14th overall in their respective drafts. We’ve got Brayden Yager, now a member of the Jets, and we’ve got Rutger McGroarty, now a member of the Penguins. What is your trade verdict, Craig?”

Craig Button: “They’re both A prospects, but when I look at it with what Kevin Cheveldayoff was able to do with a situation where they were not going to be able to get Rutger McGroarty under contract. Now, there’s a saying that says sometimes you have to make chicken salad out of something less than chicken. What Kevin Cheveldayoff was able to do here was to make chicken salad out of prime chicken.

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Brayden Yager is a really good prospect. In fact, when I say a prospect just like Rutger McGroarty, he’s a younger player, but he’s a leader, and he has the ability to play in different situations in the game, he is a well-rounded player. In fact, I thought that Bradyen Yager might be very close to being able to play in the NHL this year. Now, will that calculus change a little bit? Perhaps it will.

But what Kevin Cheveldayoff is able to do being able to trade a really good player in Rutger McGroarty for a really good player in Brayden Yager. It was necessary because Rutger McGroarty had delivered his intentions to the Winnipeg Jets, and what Kevin Cheveldayoff is able to do is get an equal type of prospect and certainly be able to keep his team competitive and move forward with a player that can be a really good, instrumental player for the Jets, maybe as soon as this season.”