The Pittsburgh Penguins have been without their young forward for the past few games now as he recently got a concussion back at practice a bit ago. But he has been seen skating before the Penguins have practiced before recent games and McGroarty took the next step as of late.
McGroarty was seen at practice on Saturday morning wearing a regular black contact jersey which is a very good sign. Concussions are not an easy thing to come back from and it depends on the player usually how long they are out of the lineup or missing games with said concussion.
And after practice, coach Muse had an intriguing update on his young forward on what his status is looking like and where McGroarty stands with the injury. Penguins fans have been waiting for news on McGroarty ever since the recent concussion.
Dan Muse said Rutger McGroarty is cleared for contact: "It's another step. His status hasn't changed, but that is another good step in the right direction." https://t.co/wCxizMJzir
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 17, 2026
Whenever McGroarty is ready to play games again, it will be assumed that he is going to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton like Ville Koivunen was. There currently seems to be no room in the current Penguins lineup for McGroarty when he gets fully healthy.
Being able to have him and Koivunen in Wilkes-Barre for the time being will do both of them some good as they have not quite shown enough in the NHL yet. So them going down to Wilkes-Barre and lighting it up down there and waiting for an injury again with the Penguins main roster is the best course of action.
McGroarty was showing a bit more in the NHL this year than Koivunen was, but for the time being neither of them are ready for big NHL minutes. Maybe Muse puts McGroarty back in for a game or two when he gets fully healthy from his concussion, but the best move would be sending him down.