Canucks Army Free Agent Profiles: Jamie McGinn

Jamie McGinn, who was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline provided depth scoring and sandpaper during his short stay in Southern California.

Of course, the Ducks short playoff run, ended by the Nashville Predators in the first round, meant that McGinn’s stay will likely be a short one. That doesn’t take away from what McGinn provided the Ducks. He continued to play an under the radar game that makes him a valuable commodity in the hockey world. A commodity that the Canucks would be wise to, at the very least, kick tires on.

McGinn, who entered the league with the San Jose Sharks, is nearing journeyman territory considering the many teams he’s played for.

He skates well, competes, has good offensive instincts and can help in all three zones. It’s clear why teams find him attractive and why Anaheim was willing to part with a third-round pick at the deadline.

He isn’t a part of the top UFA’s this summer, which is surprising given his production. For example, Sportsnet didn’t even have him ranked in their Top 15 UFA a few weeks ago, despite having more goals that Milan Lucic, Radim Vrbata, David Backes, Jiri Hudler and Eric Staal. Yes, those players likely have higher ceiling’s and can offer more in terms of playmaking or physical/power forward play, but it’s still interesting.

The argument can be made that he was a beneficiary of his circumstance in Anaheim playing with either Ryan Getzlaf or Ryan Kesler – but he has seen solid production for 5 years.

Yes, the Canucks are full of middle six wingers and McGinn would just be another body. But if the Canucks do strike out on the big fish in the UFA market, McGinn is a good consolation prize. Hovering around the 20 goals per 82 games mark since breaking into the league, the left-handed McGinn would be able to move anywhere in the lineup and hopefully inject some offence.

He isn’t shy from the physical play but also has the hands and hockey sense to create offence when given the chance. 

He is one of the younger UFA’s available this summer, turning 28 in August, so given that it’s not like the Canucks are betting on a 30+ year-old. They would conceivably get a player in his prime who could chip in and help push the pace.

The key to adding McGinn is price and term.

Given his age, a 3-4 year deal isn’t crazy as he would be exiting the deal in his early thirties and would likely still be quite productive in a variety of ways.

So, it comes down to money, if it’s below $3.5 million then I am all for exploring it.

I think McGinn will be sought after due to his versatility, but last year there were players that were left without a dance partner and had to find a deal much later in the summer. So, who knows?

If McGinn is still around, the term and dollar make sense, the Canucks would be wise to explore adding McGinn. He will add some offence to a team who is in need of goals while not being a liability in his own zone. He has shown a track record of consistent production, which given his low shot rate is impressive.

Ideally, you would like to see better underlying numbers, but he did play for a terrible Colorado Avalanche team and then was moved to a not very good Buffalo Sabres. So, it could be a reflection of his environment.

There is still plenty of time and dominoes to fall in the next couple of weeks, but McGinn is a player to keep an eye on.