We have a trade to announce. Is it just me or has this been a way busier August than usual in the NHL? It's funny because this trade or something like it has been rumored for a while, but big trades are rumored every summer. I pause there because I was like, Well, every month. But they're all happening. Oh, so-and-so could get offer sheeted. No one ever gets offer sheeted. Two dudes, same team. Well, one of the ones that's been percolating and cooking for a while is Rutger McGroady with the Winnipeg Jets. Fourteenth overall pick in 2022. And it looked like he just didn't want to sign there, which sucks on account of he was a really good pick. This trade is two 14th overall picks getting traded for each other, but it's not like they're change of seedery trades. Both of these guys should be very good players. The Winnipeg Jets trade Rutger McGrody to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Braden Jaeger. Let's get this out of the way. First things first. This is an all-time name trade. All-time. Rutger McGrody for Braden Jaeger. I know what you're thinking, and shame on you. Only one of them plays in the WHL.

Let's talk about both of these players, why this trade happened, and why it actually makes sense for both teams. Both players are exemplary at the level that they play at. Rutger McGroady plays for the University of Michigan in the NCAA, and Braden Jaeger plays in the WHA with the Moose jaw warriors. Braden Jaeger of the Moose jaw warrior. Like, dude, all time. So McGroady, 14th overall pick, 2022. There were rumors Hey, maybe he'll sign and he can join the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs. 6'1, 200 pounds at 20 years old. He's got the size for it. Second on the University of Michigan in scoring. He's got the skill for it. 16 goals, 32 assists for 52 points in 36 games. He had an assist per game and only six penalty minutes. Dumb good. But he wasn't going to sign in Winnipeg. Now, here's the thing. The Winnipeg Jets, and Jets fans know this, this is no insult to the Jets or the city of Winnipeg, they often have a hard time attracting free agents. They have to draft well, and they did. They scouted, they did their homework, and by all accounts, so far, early returns are, they got the right guy.

But sometimes the right guy wants to go, and this is the risk that you run when you draft a player who's going to play university hockey. Sometimes this happens. But the Winnipeg Jets can't afford to lose a 14th overall pick, especially one that looks like a hit, and not get that value back. In that regard, I I'm trying to think they killed this trade. Rutger McGroady is going to play in the NHL next year, or at the very least, he should. He's definitely capable of it. He could have played on the Winnipeg Jets, and he could have helped them. So do the Jets get that for this upcoming season? No, and that's a hit. I mean, unless Braden Jäger makes the team, which I suppose is possible. But while the Jets lose the probably more NHL-ready player, he's bigger, he's older, they gain a 14th overall pick from 2023. So while they're still a pretty good team right now, they maintain their future. They maintain a prospect at 14th overall who looks like he's going to be pretty good. Remember, you got to grade this situation on a curve. There's no way it's going to necessarily look like a win for the Jets because at the end of the day, they scouted this guy, they drafted this guy with a 14th overall pick, and he wanted out.

But considering that and knowing the Jets didn't have a whole heap of leverage in the situation, I think they made out like bandits. I'm sure they got calls from all over the league, and my guess is they're like, We'll give you this guy who doesn't really look like he's going to pan out, or, We'll give you this second round pick and maybe put a couple conditions on it. No, they get the 14th overall pick from 2023 for the 14th overall pick in 2022. I think that's pretty good. Now, the Pittsburgh Penguins end of it. I saw some people confused about it. I'm confused. Are the penguins rebuilding? Are they trying to be good now? The real answer is, I don't know. I did not like their July first, and their one last year sucked, too. They didn't make the play off despite getting star performances out of star players, namely star player, the best player of his generation, Cydney Crosby, who is eligible for a contract extension and hasn't signed one yet. That's not me trying to sway you one way or the other. That's just a thing that's true. There's a lot the penguins need to work on.

They need to get better now. They do. They also need to get better later. They do. To me, getting Rutger McGroady is better for both of those right now than having Braden Jaeger was. I think Braden Jaeger is going to be good, but Rutger McGroady has a higher chance of making the NHL right now. Again, 6'1, 200 pounds. He's got an inch and 31 pounds on Jaeger. Braden Jaeger makes the Pittsburgh Penguins better later. Rutger McGroady makes the penguins better, later. Rucker McGroady makes the penguins better, now and later. Now, as for Rutger McGroady, does he get what he wants? Yeah. I mean, he's going to have the ability to play in the NHL next year. That's obvious. But also, dude, as far as entry-level contracts go, this is a pretty good one. From Puckpedia, after acquiring McGroady from the Jets, Let's Go Pens, the penguins, signed him to a three-year entry-level deal. Nhl salary, $855,000. Hey, signing bonus, $95,000. Hey, A performance bonuses, 500 grand. So a cap hit of $950,000, AAV of 1.45 million. So basically, if he hits his A bonuses, whatever those are, and I think he will because he'll probably have really good opportunity on the penguins, this dude is going to make well over a million dollars next year.

I think every college student in everywhere takes that deal. It'll be interesting to see what he does in the NHL with not just fully grown men, but professionals, because he's playing with grown adults in university, and that was a grown adult team. Seven out of the top nine scores on the University of Michigan last year are NHL draft picks. Gavin Brindley, Rutger McGroady, Dylan Duke, Shamus Casey, Frank Nezir. Nezir? Frank. Nick Moldenauer, and Marshall Warren. But then, all right, who do the Winnipeg Jets get? We keep talking about this McGroady kid. Dude, Braden Jaeger, while playing Major Junior, and no, that's not against the same crowd as the universities, he did really well. So he's a forward with the Moose jaw Warriors, and he was drafted after a season with 67 games played for the Moose jaw three years, 28 goals, 50 assists, 78 points. That's pretty good. That's really good. And in the playoffs, in 10 games, he had 6 goals, 10 assists, that's an assist per game, and 16 points. That's really good. What you hope is that he takes a step the next season. Oh my gosh. In 10 fewer games, so this is 57 games, he had 35 goals, that's seven more goals, 60 assists, that's 10 more assists, and 95 points, that's 17 more points.

He stood at 95 points in 57 WHL games. And in 20 playoff games, he had 11 goals, 16 assists for 27 points. You must be thinking to yourself, wow, Moussa must have won. Yeah, they did. I think both teams got what they wanted here. Winnipeg Jets could not afford to lose a prospect as good as Rutger McGrory. But if they had to, they need to get a prospect as good or close to as good as him for the future. I think they did. At least now, today, August 2024, that's how it looks. The Pittsburgh The Lenguins give up a key part of their future, but they also gain a key part of their future and a guy who's going to play games this year. The best part of this deal is that it's one for one. Now, basically for the rest of their careers, we're going to be comparing McGroady to Jaeger. That happens with all one for one deals, but this one is a high-profile one. It's two 14th overall picks, two top 15 NHL picks getting traded for each other. When was the last trade that was anything like this. Sometimes guys who were first-round picks from, I don't know, five years ago, you might see this happen, some change of scenery trade.

Braden Jaeger was a member of the Penguins organization for 14 months. These guys were picked in 2022 and 2023. This is fresh. Fascinated to see how this goes. Fascinated to see what you think. Let me know in the comment box down below. But for now, that is it for this one. Thank you very much for watching. Click like if you like this video. Click subscribe if you really like to tell all your friends. New background.