Hurricanes sign McClement to 2-year, $2.4M contract extension

The Carolina Hurricanes have taken a potential trade target off the board.

Forward Jay McClement has signed a two-year, $2.4-million contract extension, the club announced Sunday. The new deal will pay McClement $1.3 million in 2015-16, and $1.1 million in 2016-17.

"Jay has proven to be a valuable veteran leader for our club and it was important for us to keep him in Raleigh," stated general manager Ron Francis. "He’s one of the league’s best face-off men and has played a key role in what currently stands as the best penalty-killing unit in team history."

McClement, 31, has recorded six goals and 12 assists with a plus-3 rating in 61 games this season, including two goals in Saturday's 5-3 win over the New York Islanders. He also ranks 19th among Hurricanes forwards this season with a minus-146 in reference to the NHL's new shot attempts metric.

On the penalty kill, however, he's averaging a team-high 2:24 of ice time per game, and the Hurricanes lead the league with a 88.2 percent success rate.