Believe in Jamie McBain

Meet Jamie McBain, the biggest bargain you’ll ever see on an NHL team.

He won’t catch your attention with a thunderous, tooth-crunching hit and he won’t force your jaw to drop with a sweet dangle that you can’t believe you just saw as he scores a goal.

No, Jamie McBain will not be on your fantasy hockey team’s must-have list or get you jumping out of your seat every night.

What Jamie McBain will do, however, is give you a solid effort night-in and night-out. He will play steady defense and even play your power play, too.

Jamie McBain, one of the most underrated players in the league, is the biggest bargain in the NHL and it’s not even close.

McBain was drafted into the NHL in the 2^nd round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He was selected out of the U.S. National Team Development Program before embarking on a three-year career at the University of Wisconsin in which he posted 79 points in 111 games.

Mar 3, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jamie McBain (4) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Sabres 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

While at the University of Wisconsion, McBain was a top defender on teams that featured current NHLers in Brian Elliott (St. Louis), Kyle Turris (Ottawa), Ryan McDonagh (New York), Derek Stepan (New York), Jack Skille (Colorado), Brendan Smith (Detroit) and Jake Gardiner (Toronto).

The 6’1”, 181 lb defenseman saw his best season come in his third and final year when he led the team in scoring with 7 goals and 30 assists, good for 37 points in 40 games.

McBain, 27, played his first full professional season in 2009-10 for the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate Albany River Rats, posting 40 points in 68 games for Albany in addition to 10 points in 14 games with Carolina that season.

McBain would go on to play 3 more seasons with the Hurricanes before playing for the Buffalo Sabres in 2013-14. In 2014-15 McBain signed with the Los Angeles Kings’ organization. He was re-signed to a 1-year contract on July 5, 2015 to remain in the organization and, after beginning the season with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario, McBain was recalled once defenseman Matt Greene went down with an injury early in the year.

And in my opinion, he needs to stay.

Since he was called up this season and through the 26 games he played with L.A. last season, the Minnesota native has been very good.

McBain has tallied 13 points in 38 games and a +6 rating for the black and silver since making his Kings debut in 2014-15. If you watch L.A. games on a consistent basis, you know McBain is a steady force on the 2-time Stanley Cup winners’ blue line. Not only can he provide offense, but he is as solid as a rock on defense.

He currently ranks third on the entire L.A. team with 23.65 shots against per 60 minutes and is fifth in Kings defense with a 55.93% Corsi-for rating. To put McBain’s Corsi-for rating in perspective, Drew Doughty leads the club’s defense with a 56.78% Corsi-for, just a 0.85% difference.

Additionally, McBain sits fourth on the Kings with a 102.07 PDO (thanks, war-on-ice.com). The only three players ahead of McBain in this category? Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter and Milan Lucic, L.A.’s most dominant line through the first 18 games.

At a cap hit of just $552,000, McBain averages just 13:54 of ice time on the Kings’ 3^rd defensive pairing, often lining up opposite veteran Christian Ehrhoff or rookie Derek Forbort.

Feb 16, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jamie McBain (5) handles the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While he posts solid fancy stats, there are more reasons why McBain should remain with the Kings and see his role grow.

First of all, McBain is a right-handed shot, somewhat of a hot-commodity in the NHL these days. Good, right-handed puck-moving defenseman are hard to find in today’s game and McBain is one of those guys. On an L.A. roster that only boasts two other right-handed shots in Drew Doughty and Matt Greene, it’s not hard to see why it is important for the Kings to have another right-handed shot in their lineup.

Secondly, McBain is cheap… really cheap. His cap hit is only $552,000 while Greene carries a $2.5-million cap hit. Forbort has a $885,000 salary that is counted towards L.A.’s cap, while Ehrhoff and Brayden McNabb each possess a $1.5-million hit and $650,000 hit, respectively (all cap numbers courtesy of NHLNumbers.com).

Thirdly, although still young, McBain brings a calming presence and crucial veteran experience to a Kings’ backend that lost Willie Mitchell (880 GP), Rob Scuderi (737 GP) and Robyn Regehr (1,089GP) over the past three seasons, a whopping total of 2,706 games (and counting) of NHL experience lost on the blue line. McBain has appeared in 313 career games himself and his vision and poise in the defensive zone are two attributes that are only obtained after numerous years in the league. An above-average puck handler, McBain consistently makes good decisions with the puck and executes tape-to-tape passes to breaking wingers. He plays a sound game positionally in his own zone and can truly fire a hard and accurate shot on offense.

Don’t be looking for a highlight-reel, see-you-next-week kind of hit from him, either.

McBain doesn’t provide the same type of physical game that Greene and McNabb are known to play, but he is rarely caught out of position and is better at controlling the puck than the two. Forbort is a big body who has a bright future ahead of him, but constantly being thrown in and out of the lineup is not ideal for the youngster. Ehrhoff, 33, is not a physical player by any means, but he is an offensive defenseman who moves the puck well and can play on a team’s top power play unit.

Once Greene returns from injury, the Kings will need to readjust their roster. With Greene back in action, L.A. will suddenly have 8 healthy defenseman on their roster. So, what to do?