About Last Season: Brock McGinn Performance Review and Grade

Brock McGinn: 2018-2019 By The Numbers

• Age: 25
• NHL Seasons: 4
• Games Played: 82
• Scoring: 10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points
• Ice Time: 14:19 all situations, 11:50 ES, 0:16 PP, 2:13 PK
• 5 on 5 Stats: 51.0% CF, 50.0% GF
• Contract: Restricted Free Agent

Making the Grade

Before we go even one step further into the evaluation of Brock McGinn in his fourth season with the Carolina Hurricanes, let us begin with perhaps the most famous play that he will make as a Hurricane — or perhaps in his entire career. McGinn’s double-overtime tip-in, as well as his heroic clearing of a near-winner late in the third period, in Game 7 of the Canes first-round series with the Washington Capitals has emblazoned his place within Canes history forever, and likely has earned himself a bit of a soft spot from many Canes fans for years to come.

Moments such as that are images that stick with a player and a fanbase for decades to come. Perhaps McGinn will provide more plays of that nature in his career, but no matter what, he will certainly be remembered in Raleigh for that thrilling night in D.C.

In regards to McGinn’s third full season as a Hurricane, it was a year that began to show the type of player that McGinn can be in the NHL. While his scoring dropped slightly (10 goals vs. 16 the season before, four fewer total points), his overall consistency improved as he became a dependable third-line player with real value on the penalty kill. While +/- is not a particularly revealing stat at times, it certainly reflected well on McGinn in 2018-19 as he posted a positive number (plus-10) for the first time in his career. Playing alongside the lines of Jordan Martinook and Lucas Wallmark for much of the season, McGinn added to a formidable defensive group that at many points of the season was the Canes most physical line.

McGinn came into the season attempting to establish himself as a bedrock member of the Canes lineup as he entered Restricted Free Agency this coming offseason. The year got off to a bit of a slow start as McGinn didn’t post a point in the first nine contests, while being on the ice for four goals against. About that time, the Canes began to settle McGinn into his familar surroundings with his typical linemates, and things began to click better for the group, if not for the Canes as a whole.

Although McGinn was certainly an energy-driving player for the Canes, his discipline was noteworthy, as he logged only 20 penalty minutes over the entire 82 game season. For a team that thrived practically at all times during five-on-five action, McGinn provided just the kind of hard-nosed play that the Canes asked of him.

What may stand out as a bit of a surprise is the typical zone start for McGinn on the season. While McGinn is certainly a part of what you would call a physical and defensive line, his average zone start was basically split 50/50 between offensive and defensive zone starts, which might signal that McGinn’s group has yet to draw enough of the tougher assignments as a group.

But when you compare his starts to Jordan Staal, who typically helms the ace defensive line for the Canes, you see that his zone start numbers are similar. This is as good an illustration as any as to the puck possession dominance that the Canes exhibited most of the season. McGinn and a host of others are positive possession players who, if called upon, could carry more of a defensive burden if needed. With even top-line players such as Sebastian Aho fully capable of excelling in a defensive role, the question could become whether or not the Canes look to sacrifice some of their team-wide depth of defensive talent for a bit more offensive punch. If so, McGinn could be a player who other teams have interest in as the Canes look to improve other aspects of their team.

If McGinn is looking for an offensive career to model himself after, he can look no further than teammate Micheal Ferland who slowly grew into his offensive game (mostly alongside high-end offensive talent in Calgary) and became a consistent 40-point scorer. That level of production appears to be available for the 25-year-old McGinn, if he is allowed to continue to expand his ice time and is paired with teammates who continue to grow as well (Wallmark and Warren Foegele come immediately to mind). That additional 15-20 points per season will be the difference between McGinn being a solid bottom-six winger who can play on the PK and a player that can be slotted throughout the lineup and dispatched in nearly any situation. If the Canes can work out a deal with the RFA, it will be interesting to see how his career continues to evolve in Raleigh.

While McGinn is a RFA, his time in Raleigh has likely not come to an end. Expect the Canes to work out a deal with the young forward that will see him on the ice as a part of the third line again in October. Hopefully we will also be treated to a return from Thor as well!

Exit Interview