Jets fans chant ‘Where is Rutger (McGroarty)?’ during game against Penguins

Winnipeg Jets supporters have earned a reputation as being one of the boisterous and sometimes creative fanbases in the NHL, using a great memory to create some entertaining chants.

That “skillset” was displayed on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Penguins were in town. As the Jets were on their way to closing out a 6-3 win, the fans inside the Canda Life Centre let their voices be heard about how they felt about one of their former prospects.

With just a couple of minutes remaining, a chant of “Where is Rutger?” started to circulate around the arena, only getting louder as the play continued.

The chant spurs from the events of last offseason. Rutger McGroarty was originally taken in the first round, 14th overall, by the Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft. However, after a stellar sophomore season at the University of Michigan, the Lincoln, Nebraska native made the stunning announcement that he would be returning to Ann Arbor for a third year, later revealing that he had no intentions of signing with Winnipeg.

That forced the Jets’ hand, leading the team to deal the 20-year-old to the Penguins for Brayden Yager, with McGroarty signing his entry-level contract. However, he wasn’t impressive in the first three games of his NHL career, leading to Pittsburgh assigning McGroarty to its American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, last week.

The fans in attendance on Sunday decided to poke fun at the convenient visitors, since the player they traded for, in their eyes, wasn’t good enough to play in the Pens’ lone trip to Manitoba.

McGroarty has played just two games in the AHL, having yet to register a point in his professional career.

In 2023-24, the former Wolverine made a sizeable impression, being named to the Big Ten First All-Star Team, earning a Hobey Baker Award nomination and winning IIHF World Junior Championship gold with the United States.