Time for a trade
Panthers pick up a forward.
CORAL SPRINGS — For Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, the equation was a simple one. Florida needed a left winger. It had a glut of defensemen. So the club traded Jason Demers to Arizona for forward Jamie McGinn on Sunday afternoon.
Panthers coach Bob Boughner said McGinn should join the team for practice on Thursday. Florida plays a preseason doubleheader today in Nashville and is off Wednesday.
“He’s a hard-nose, up-and-down, northsouth, take the body, goes to the net and gets those dirty goals,” Tallon said. “Gives us some stability on the left side, gives our young guys a little more time to develop. It was a need for us. Basically it was a good trade for both teams. They needed a defenseman with the injuries they had in the offseason. It was a trade that benefited both teams.”
McGinn struggled last season with the Coyotes, notching only nine goals and eight assists in 72 games, just one year into a three-year, $10-million contract he signed last summer. In 2015-16, McGinn scored a career-high 22 goals and added 17 assists.
Both Boughner and Tallon said they were confident McGinn’s year last season was an aberration and that he could return to form with Florida. Tallon even said the club looked at signing him previously “after we had our good season.”
“I know he can do it, he’s done it in the past where he’s scored 22 goals in a season and takes the body, hits hard,” Tallon said.
“He told [us] he’s committed to getting [his] mojo back and having a good year and proving everyone wrong.”
Added Boughner: “I think the whole team had a tough year, obviously, last year in Arizona. He’s going to come here. He’s going to get an opportunity. He’s going to play with some good players. I think he’s going to help us.”
Boughner said McGinn would give the Panthers depth and add grit. The Panthers will try to replace five of their top eight scorers from last season with the departures of Jonathan Marchessault, Jaromir Jagr, Reilly Smith, Jussi Jokinen and Demers.
Prior to the Demers trade, Florida was set to bring back its top six defensemen from a season ago. But his exit opens the door for either Ian McCoshen or MacKenzie Weegar to earn a roster spot out of training camp.
Tallon said the presence of McCoshen and Weegar — along with other young defensemen Josh Brown and Thomas Schemitsch — made it easier to part with Demers. McCoshen and Weegar both played three games at the tail end of last year for Florida.
“So far, they’ve been two steady players in our first three, four days,” Tallon said. “They both don’t look out of place. They’re both eager to do it. I think those three games really gave them the energy and the confidence to know that this offseason, they had something to work for and that they had a chance to make the big club.”
McCoshen scored during Monday morning’s scrimmage, even though Weegar is generally regarded as the more offensive-minded of the pair. At Springfield in the AHL last season, McCoshen had 16 points and Weegar had 36.
“They’re knocking at the door for sure,” Boughner said. “That’s probably one of the reasons where it allowed us to make that trade yesterday.”
Demers still has four years left on a five-year, $22.5-million deal. McGinn is only on the books for two more seasons, but Tallon dismissed the notion that the trade was a salary dump.
“It was a hockey trade,” Tallon said. “Basically, it was a need for us. Bottom line.”