Penguins forward Brock McGinn is ready for tough expectations

Toughness can be defined a lot of ways in hockey.

A generation or two ago, it could have been tabulated by penalty minutes or fighting majors.

Today, the sport has a far less pugilistic bent. But being tough is still an attribute that is as vital to the sport as frozen water and fake incisors.

So is new Penguins forward Brock McGinn “tough?”

Well, if “tough” is defined as “playing with a partially separated shoulder and not telling your coaches about it because you didn’t want to be pulled out of the lineup,” then, yeah, Brock McGinn is tough.

That’s what McGinn, who joined the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent last week, did during the 2016-17 season with his previous employer, the Carolina Hurricanes.

Having spent parts of three seasons in the American Hockey League, McGinn broke through as a regular NHLer in 2016-17. And he wasn’t going to let something like a wonky shoulder ruin that for him.

“It’s going to take a lot to take me out of the lineup,” McGinn said via video conference Monday. “That is just the way I like to play the game, and that’s the way I was brought up.”

Something approaching the bounds of “a lot” apparently happened to McGinn last season. Hhe missed the final 19 games of the regular season because of an undisclosed injury he suffered April 4.

“If he comes out of a game, he’s hurt,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said that night. “There’s no one I’ve been around since I’ve been done playing that’s tougher than that kid.”

That moxie prompted Penguins management to extend a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2.75 million to the 27-year-old from Fergus, Ontario, as the free agency signing period opened Wednesday.

“There was definitely other offers,” McGinn said. “But I think when it comes down to it, I didn’t want to go anywhere where I wasn’t going to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup (championship). Looking at Pittsburgh, everything is bright about this organization. There’s nothing bad you can say about it. Every single year, they have a chance. When I looked at Pittsburgh, that was one of the top choices.”

McGinn (6-foot, 187 pounds) will be expected to serve as a replacement of sorts for former forward Brandon Tanev, who was lost to the Seattle Kraken through the expansion draft last month.

While not an exact carbon copy of what the tenacious Tanev offered, McGinn shares a lot of common attributes.

“I’m a 200-foot player who’s going to bring energy, who’s going to play that physical style and who can also contribute offensively,” McGinn said. “I’ve shown that over the last couple of years. My mindset is not going to change how I’m going to play.”

“I’m not going to … hope to come in and score 40 goals. I know my expectations. I’m going come out, bring energy for the guys and, hopefull,y help Pittsburgh win as many games as we can and, hopefully, bring a (Stanley Cup title) to the city of Pittsburgh.”

One area where McGinn figures to offer a tangible contribution is penalties and his ability to draw them.

According to Natural Stat Trick, McGinn drew 0.92 penalties per 60 minutes of ice time during five-on-five situations. Among members of the Penguins who played in at least half of their games last season, only forwards Sam Lafferty (1.3), Jared McCann (1.2), Jake Guentzel (1.07) and Evgeni Malkin (0.94) drew penalties at a higher rate.

“My style of play might frustrate some players on the other teams where they’re going to take some penalties after the play or something like that,” McGinn said. “I’m going to go out there and hit them between the lines and play a physical game. … It might frustrate the other team where they’re going to take penalties and give our team a power play and more chances to score.”

As far as scoring goes, McGinn’s base numbers weren’t all that impressive. In 37 games last season, he had 13 points (eight goals, five assists). That said, his goals-per-game rate of 0.22 was a career-high.

“A lot of the time in Carolina, I felt like I never fully got that opportunity to show how offensive I can be, and it was more the defensive side of my game that was focused on,” McGinn said. “Last year, I really went into it trying to prove how offensive I can be in the NHL. Last year was a true testament of how I can play and how offensive I can be as long as my defensive (game), my full 200-foot style game doesn’t (stray) from that.”

Signed to the longest contract he’s ever signed in his professional career (and will likely ever sign), McGinn now has a really tough job ahead of him: meeting the inflated demands of such an investment.

“I’m at the best stage of my career here,” McGinn said. “The first couple of years, you’re really just trying to gain your confidence and see where you fit in in the league and on a team. The last couple of years, I really established myself in the part of the lineup where I feel I can play.”

“Going forward, I want to put higher expectations on myself and that’s how I’m going to play.”

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