Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Demers sent to Arizona
Panthers get back F Jamie McGinn in deal
CORAL SPRINGS — The Florida Panthers traded defenseman Jason Demers to the Arizona Coyotes, for forward Jamie McGinn on Sunday afternoon.
Demers, 29, only spent one season with Florida after he signed a five-year deal with the club last summer. He played in 81 games for the Panthers, scoring nine goals, assisting on 19 others and posting a minus-14 rating. He had four years at $4.5 million per season remaining on his contract.
McGinn, 29, has two years remaining on a three-year, $10-million deal he signed with Arizona last summer. He only notched nine goals and eight assists last season with the Coyotes.
“Jamie brings size, skill and grit to our lineup and makes us a tougher team to play against,” Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement. “He’s played in over 500 NHL games and possesses a strong game on both sides of the puck. Jamie will be a welcome addition to our club as we move forward through training camp and into the season.”
McGinn had a solid season in 2015-16, when he split time with Buffalo and Anaheim. That year, he scored 22 goals and chipped in 17 assists in 84 games.
Moving Demers opens up a spot in Florida’s defensive corps, which previously returned all six defensemen (Demers, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Michael Matheson, Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk) from last year’s team. Now, an opportunity arrives for both Ian McCoshen and MacKenzie Weegar to make the team.
McCoshen and Weegar appeared to be candidates for a seventh defenseman role at the start of camp on Friday, but should have an expanded role now without Demers. McCoshen played in the final three games of last season, assisting on one goal and averaging 13:15 of ice time. Weegar was also a late-season callup, playing in three games, registering three shots on goal and averaging 17:27 of ice time.
McCoshen, 22, was a second-round pick in the 2013 draft and played three seasons at Boston College. Last year at AHL affiliate Springfield, he had 16 points and a plus-23 rating.
Weegar, 23, is the more offensive-minded player of the duo, racking up 60 points in the last two seasons in the AHL, including a 14-goal, 22-assist year last season. He was originally a seventh-round pick in 2013.