Hurricanes Re-Sign Brock McGinn

Brock McGinn’s arbitration hearing was slated for Saturday morning but it wasn’t needed in the end.   The team announced that they’ve agreed to a two-year, $4.2MM contract with the winger. GM Don Waddell released a brief statement on the signing:

We’re relieved to have this settled before going to arbitration. Brock was an important part of what we accomplished last season and we’re happy to have him as part of our group moving forward.

The deal will pay $1.9MM next season and $2.3MM in 2020-21 and will take him to unrestricted free agency.  The $2.1MM AAV checks in slightly below the $2.225MM midpoint of the initial filings and right within the range that our Zach Leach predicted yesterday when he broke down each side of the case.

The 25-year-old has emerged as a capable bottom-six forward for Carolina over the past couple of seasons.  While his offensive numbers slightly dipped from 2017-18, McGinn still put up 26 points (10-16-26) in 82 regular season games last year and chipped in at a similar rate with six points (2-4-6) in 15 postseason contests as the Hurricanes made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final.

McGinn also provides Carolina with some grit as he recorded 137 hits in each of the last two seasons.  He also led the Hurricanes in shorthanded ice time per game among forwards which certainly helped his value.  In the end, he winds up more than doubling his previous AAV of $887.5K.

With this deal now done, Waddell can shift his focus to his group of AHL restricted free agents, a list headlined by goalie Anton Forsberg and winger Saku Maenalanen.  Forsberg’s arbitration hearing is slated for August 4th, the final day for hearings so there is still plenty of time for the two sides to work something out.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) was the first to report the deal.