According to Josh Yohe, who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins at The Athletic, there’s some belief that the Penguins have serious interest in Utah Mammoth restricted free agent forward Jack McBain.
McBain was given a qualifying offer by the Mammoth before the June 30 deadline. Now that he’s a restricted free agent on the open market, Pittsburgh has the option to submit an offer sheet. If they do, and McBain accepts it, the Mammoth would have seven days to match. If they choose not to, McBain would become a member of the Penguins, and Utah would receive draft pick compensation in return.
His projected salary is just over $3 million per season on a three-year deal. If Utah declines to match, they would receive a second-round pick as per the NHL’s offer sheet compensation rules.
That said, I’d expect the Mammoth to match any offer sheet at that price point. They clearly value what McBain brings to the roster. He plays with the kind of physical edge that playoff teams need in their bottom six. With Utah pushing to become a playoff team, he’s a vital piece of that plan. Especially with the addition of Brandon Tanev, a line featuring McBain, Tanev, and Liam O’Brien could become one of the toughest, most energetic lines in the entire league.
It would be surprising if McBain remains unsigned for long. All signs point to Utah working to get a deal done in the coming weeks. But as always, only time will tell what his future holds.
