Penguins Reassign Rutger McGroarty

Earlier this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they reassigned forward Rutger McGroarty to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The transaction leaves the Penguins with one open roster spot since they didn’t make a corresponding roster move.

It likely won’t be McGroarty’s last NHL stint, even in the near future. Not only has Pittsburgh dealt with multiple injuries through the first month of the 2026-27 campaign, but the team is open to moving some veterans from the roster via the trade market. If they do make a trade, McGroarty would likely be the first player up to fill the void.

The Penguins acquired McGroarty a few years ago. The former 14th overall pick was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, but refused to sign an entry-level contract with them. Instead of losing him to the free-agent market in a few years, the Jets dealt McGroarty to Pittsburgh for Brayden Yager.

Unfortunately, McGroarty hasn’t gotten much playing time in the NHL. Since debuting with the Penguins in the 2024-25 season, McGroarty has scored four goals and nine points in 34 games with a -3 rating, averaging 12:41 of ice time per game.

He has understandably performed much better with the WBS Penguins. Throughout his first season, McGroarty immediately became a quality secondary scorer, registering 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games with a -10 rating. The following season, McGroarty was arguably Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s most efficient forward, finishing with 10 goals and 34 points in 30 games with a +10 rating. McGroarty added four goals and nine points in 15 postseason contests.