Vitals
Player: Rutger McGroarty
Born: March 30, 2004 (age: 22)
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 212 pounds
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2022, first-round, No. 14 overall by Winnipeg Jets
2025-26 Regular Season Statistics: 24 games played, 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 total points, minus-3 rating
Contract Status: Entering final year of entry-level contract with $925,000 salary cap number
Story of the Season
McGroarty’s season got off to a difficult start when an upper-body injury sidelined him for training camp, the preseason
and the first month of the regular season. He eventually returned to the lineup in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, put up great numbers and found his way back into the NHL lineup in early December.
There were a lot of games where his play looked better than the actual on-ice production.
While he managed just three goals and six total points in 24 NHL games, he had an outstanding year in the AHL with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 total points in 30 regular season games, while also playing a strong defensive game. He has also been productive in the AHL playoffs.
Monthly Splits
It is tough to get much of a read on his splits since his usage was so limited at times.
Regular season 5v5 advanced stats
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 18 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
Corsi For%: 56.4% (2nd)
Goals For%: 46.1% (17th)
xGF%: 52.5% (4th)
Scoring Chance %: 48.9% (14th)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 47.9 (18th)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 9.30 (14th)
On-ice save%: .854 (18th)
Goals/60: 0.66 (13th)
Assist/60: 0.66 (16th)
Points/60: 1.33 (16th)
It’s a very bizarre set of numbers. The shot-attempt share and expected goals share outstanding within the context of this Penguins team.
But everything else?
Largely underwhelming, both in terms of his own production and the team-wide performance. It’s all a very small sample size, so there is definitely some noise here, but it’s still a tough year in terms of actual performance.
Highlights
Questions to ponder
The biggest question surrounding McGroarty at this point almost always seems to come back to his skating, and whether or not it is good enough to be an impact player in the NHL. Can he improve it enough to get there? Is it good enough as it is?
Ideal 2026-27
The ideal scenario for McGroarty would be for him to simply have a better start to his season than he had in 2025-26. He needs a full training camp, a full preseason, and an opportunity to prove himself and earn a spot on the opening night roster right from the start.
With Antony Mantha and Noel Accairi likely leaving Pittsburgh, and with the potential for some other trades this offseason, there should be roster spots up for grabs. McGroarty taking one of them and being able to be a regular contributor would be a massive development for the Penguins. The farm system has improved, but they need some of these young guys to start developing at the highest level. If McGroarty can play a full season and flirt with the 20-goal mark (or exceed it) that would be a big step toward that.
Bottom line
Just as was the case with Ville Koivunen, McGroarty is entering a big season for the Penguins and for his development. He is going to turn 23 years old by the end of the season and has performed well enough at the AHL level that he has very little to prove down there. There’s going to come a point where he is going to need to start showing something more at the NHL level and turning it into tangible, meaningful production. It is not quite a make-or-break season, but it is very close to being one for him.
Final Grade: C
There were some brief glimpses of what McGroarty can be, and could be, but not enough of them. Part of it was the preseason injury. Part of it was usage and role. And part of it was just his own play and the growing pains that come from being a young NHL player that had something of a disrupted season.
