The Florida Panthers saw some players have personal best seasons in goals, assists, and points last year. For McGinn, however, his personal success came from overcoming back surgery.
In September of last year, the Florida Panthers announced they would be without Jamie McGinn for the foreseeable future as he recovers from successful back surgery.
He would be sidelined indefinitely leaving many to wonder if he would come back at all since he was entering the last season of his contract.
On February 1st, 2019, the Panthers called up McGinn from his four-game conditioning stint with the AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he recorded 2 goals and 2 assists.
From there, McGinn played in 19 contests for the Panthers, tallying 4 goals and 7 points while averaging less than 11 minutes per game.
While his season was limited from surgery, the 19 games were impressive considering the injury he had to overcome.
Projecting his 2019 stat line over a full 82 game season would accumulate to roughly 17 goals, 12 assists, for 29 points – which would be in line with his production from the season prior to the injury, where he amassed 13 goals, 16 assists, for 29 points.
From a contract perspective, McGinn finds himself as an unrestricted free agent this summer. He finished the last season of a three-year contract carrying an average annual value of $3.3 million; a contract he signed with the Arizona Coyotes back in 2016.
McGinn has a good level of experience, playing with 6 teams over 11 years. In 617 career games, he’s accumulated 220 points, 117 of them being goals.
It will be hard to think the Panthers will be re-signing the eleven-year veteran. This big body winger does provide a physical presence lacking on the team and is never shy to go to the front of the net or bang in the corners.
However, with the wealth of prospects building and the expectation to win, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers signing McGinn, even for a moderate contract.
Overall, Mcginn had a decent stint with the Panthers over two years, including a comeback from a difficult injury. A team like Ottawa or Edmonton may look to sign a player like McGinn during their rebuilding years.