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So far, Ron Francis is doing exactly what he said he would do. The Carolina General Manager said he wanted to make the team bigger and that he would bring aboard two fourth line type players, who were good at killing penalties.
Yesterday, the Hurricanes welcomed Brad Malone, who fits the bill. On Wednesday evening, the Canes signed Jay McClement as well. McClement is listed at 6'1 and is a little over 200 pounds. He had 141 hits in 82 games for the Maple Leafs last season.
More importantly, the veteran center led the Leafs with 3:25 of penalty kill time per game. The next closest teammate was defenseman Carl Gunnarsson who averaged 2:56 a game.
McClement is also proficient in the faceoff circle and won over 53% of his draws last season. While he only scored four goals in 82 games last year, he scored eight in 48 games the year before. He averaged over 14 minutes of ice time per game, so he must have seen time at third line center for the Leafs as well as fourth line.
In addition, Jay will bring some leadership to the dressing room and served as alternate captain in Toronto.
The contract is for one-year and will pay $1 million. The team's presser follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 2, 2014
HURRICANES AGREE TO TERMS WITH McCLEMENT
Center led Maple Leafs in faceoff percentage in 2013-14
RALEIGH, NC – Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with center Jay McClement on a one-year contract. The deal will pay McClement $1 million for the 2014-15 season.
"Jay is a veteran centerman who is proficient in the faceoff circle," said Francis. "He’ll also provide elements of consistency and leadership for our club."
McClement, 31, completed his ninth NHL season and second with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013-14. The Kingston, Ont., native earned 10 points (4g, 6a) in 81 games for Toronto, ranking third on the team in games played. McClement (6’1", 205 lbs.) also led Toronto and ranked in the top 25 in the NHL in face-off percentage (53.6%) for the season.
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round, 57th overall, of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, McClement has played 682 career NHL games with the Blues, Colorado Avalanche and Maple Leafs, totaling 204 points (75g, 129a). He registered face-off percentages higher than 50 percent in each of the last four seasons and seven of his last eight NHL campaigns.
For information about 2014-15 Hurricanes ticket packages, please call 1-866-NHL-CANES (1-866-645-2263) or visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com/
tickets.
JAY McCLEMENT CAREER STATISTICS
REGULAR SEASON PLAYOFFS YEAR Team
LGE GP G A TP PIM GP G A TP PIM 1999-00 Brampton OHL
63 13 16 29 34 6 0 4 4 8 2000-01 Brampton OHL
66 30 19 49 61 9 4 2 6 10 2001-02 Brampton OHL
61 26 29 55 43 - - - - - 2002-03 Brampton OHL
45 22 27 49 37 11 3 4 7 11
Worcester AHL - - - - - 1 0 0 0 0 2003-04 Worcester AHL
69 12 13 25 20 10 0 3 3 0 2004-05 Worcester AHL
79 17 34 51 45 - - - - - 2005-06 St. Louis NHL
67 6 21 27 30 - - - - -
Peoria AHL 11 4 5 9 4 4 0 2 2 2 2006-07 St. Louis NHL
81 8 28 36 55 - - - - - 2007-08 St. Louis NHL
81 9 13 22 26 - - - - - 2008-09 St. Louis NHL
82 12 14 26 29 4 0 0 0 4 2009-10 St. Louis NHL
82 11 18 29 22 - - - - - 2010-11 St. Louis NHL
56 6 10 16 18 - - - - -
Colorado NHL 24 1 3 4 12 - - - - - 2011-12 Colorado
NHL 80 10 7 17 31 - - - - - 2012-13 Toronto
NHL 48 8 9 17 11 7 0 0 0 0 2013-14 Toronto
NHL 81 4 6 10 32 - - - - - NHL Totals (9 seasons)
682 75 129 204 266 11 0 0 0 4