Should the Rangers Pursue Jamie McBain?
(November 20, 2013 – Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
UPDATE: McBain has signed with Omsk Avangard of the KHL, according to Darren Dreger.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post, reported on Friday that the Rangers are shopping for help on the blue line after Dan Boyle went down with an injury. Jamie McBain could be a good fit.
Image provided by Zimbio.com, (September 28, 2014 – Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
Boyle was brought in to take control of the Rangers power play and fill Anton Stralman’s shoes as the teams 4th defensemen. With Boyle out 4-6 weeks the Rangers would be willing to add some short term help to try to ease the burden on their defense core. Jamie McBain could be a decent fit for the Rangers, because he is a cheap free agent who is right handed, is only 26 years old and has decent size at 6’1 181 pounds. McBain was on the lowly Sabres last season, but still recorded a heavy work load playing an average of 20:09 per game. In his career McBain has played in 275 NHL contests and has posted 92 points in that time. Hockey’s Future says “McBain is an offensive defenseman with decent size. He has good puck handling skills and a good sense of where the puck needs to be.”
Image provided by Zimbio.com, (November 20, 2013 – Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
McBain wasn’t foreign to the power play last season where he played an average of 2:41 per game. The Rangers power play hasn’t looked dangerous at all to start the season. They just seem out of place and don’t look like they have a plan. With McBain being a right handed shot with some offensive prowess, he could help slow down the game for the Rangers on the man advantage. I’m not saying McBain is a big star, that would come in and take over the Rangers defense, I just think he would be a better fit than Matt Hunwick or Mike Kostka. After-all both Hunwick and Kostka struggled to secure the seventh defensemen’s spot out of camp.
I think McBain’s style and ability are more suited to fill in for Boyle in the short term. If he comes back you could put Kevin Klein back with John Moore. The most important thing is if they take him and he doesn’t work, then they just send him down. Whereas if they trade for someone they will likely have to surrender decent assets, and the player will be out of a job in a month if things go well. McBain was signed to a PTO this off-season by the Arizona Coyotes but was released. McBain has played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes in his career. The Hurricanes drafted him in the second round of the 2006 draft.
UPDATE: We apologize, currently Jamie McBain is signed to play in the KHL this season.
You could see McBain’s highlights here.
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