Forward Brock McGinn has signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a four-year deal worth $11 million with an AAV of $2.75 million.
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Brock McGinn Leaves Carolina Hurricanes for Pittsburgh Penguins
In signing with the Penguins, McGinn leaves the only NHL team for which he’s ever played. The Carolina Hurricanes selected the Fergus, Ontario native in the second round of the 2012 draft, 47th overall. Before that, McGinn won an OHL championship as an assistant captain with the Guelph Storm.
It took McGinn a couple of seasons before he found himself in Carolina’s lineup. After his junior eligibility expired, McGinn spent a full season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers. He then split time between Charlotte and Carolina the following two seasons before earning a full-time NHL spot in 2016-17. McGinn had a career season in 2017-18, scoring 16 goals and 14 assists in 80 games with the Hurricanes.
In total, McGinn has scored 106 points in 345 NHL games.
What this means for the Penguins
So long as the Pittsburgh Penguins have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang on their team, you have to assume they will be playoff contenders. Especially given that the Pens haven’t missed the playoffs since 2005-06. But it’s a weird time for Pittsburgh as their superstars are on the back end of their careers.
New front office brass was brought in midway through last season, with Brian Burke and Ron Hextall taking over the team. That came after a disappointing start to the year, and eventually worked out as Pittsburgh made it to the postseason.
Up front, Kasperi Kapanen, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust provide a solid enough compliment to Crosby and Malkin’s abilities. On the back end, Letang, Brian Dumoulin, John Marino and Mike Matheson round out a solid top-four. The question mark remains in net, as Tristan Jarry struggled in the postseason against the New York Islanders.
Signing McGinn adds another two-way forward to Pittsburgh’s lineup. The 27-year-old has been a mainstay on Carolina’s penalty kill for virtually his entire career. He also starts his shifts in the defensive zone 55 percent of the time. That will come in handy as Pittsburgh had the 27th ranked penalty-killing unit last year functioning at 77 percent. If McGinn is able to contribute 15 goals and 30 to 40 points, that’s just a bonus for the Pens.
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