Published Friday, 16 December 2011
The star forward has handed in his two-week notice and will fly out early next week.
Giants General Manager Todd Kelman said it was disappointing, but that McBride had already turned down at least three other offers since joining the Belfast side in the summer.
"He's a great player and, at his age, he's a very attractive player to sign for a lot of bigger European clubs from leagues that can pay a lot more money than this league can," Kelman said.
"Clubs were taking notice of him tearing up the scoring charts and, when they need a player to score, they were looking at guys like Brock to leave their club and come to them."
The departure comes at a bad time for the Giants, as they've just lost Aaron Clarke to a six-week suspension and also have a number of the roster out through injury.
Kelman says they will be short-staffed over the next weeks but will "get through it".
He added: "This is the reality of our sport. We've taken players from other clubs and we've had teams take players from us before.
"And unfortunately, this won't be the last time a team in the Elite League loses a player to a higher-paying league."
But the side remain full of praise for McBride and his contribution to the Giants.
"I really like Brock as a guy and obviously I think he is a great player - he's young and has a great career ahead of him," Kelman said.
"I know he has enjoyed his time in Belfast, particularly playing with this group of guys.
"We worked everything out with him and his new club to make this transition smooth for both parties. We wish him well this season and for the rest of his career."
The process to find a replacement for McBride is already underway and head coach Doug Christiansen hopes to make an announcement about a new addition to the Giants soon.