The Arizona Coyotes will be without the services of center Jack McBain on a week-to-week basis as he recovers from a lower-body injury, the club announced Saturday evening.
McBain, 23, left Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues after awkwardly falling into the boards during the second period. He appeared to favor his left leg as he left the ice.
Although McBain returned to the game shortly thereafter, he only took two shifts in the third period of the 2–1 loss to the Blues at Enterprise Center. Now, the Coyotes have announced that he will be out for an extended period of time.
Travis Boyd took McBain’s place in the lineup as the Coyotes faced the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night.
McBain has four goals and seven points while averaging 12:13 of ice time in 13 games with the Coyotes this season. Over the summer, he signed a two-year deal with the Coyotes carrying a highly unusual $1,599,999 cap hit.
The Minnesota Wild originally selected McBain in the third round (No. 63 overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-3 center spent the following four seasons at Boston University, notifying the Wild during his senior year that he did not intend to sign with the club; Minnesota subsequently traded McBain to Arizona for a 2022 second-round pick.
McBain is the biggest and meanest of Arizona’s trio of young top-nine centers, playing more of a crash-and-bang role while Logan Cooley and Barrett Hayton are looked up more to provide offense. Back in October, McBain recorded a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in an 8–1 Coyotes win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Through 105 career NHL games over parts of three seasons with the Coyotes, McBain has collected 18 goals, 36 points and 81 penalty minutes. The Toronto product represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2023 IIHF World Championship.
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