The Tampa Bay Lightning announced the team has re-signed prospect forward Tye McGinn to a one-year, two-way contract.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have made quite a few moves during the off-season, ranging from the re-signing of some key players to picking up some new faces to fill some of the holes in the lineup. While things have been particularly quiet as of late, the Lightning is not quite done putting ink to paper just yet.
Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman has been known during his time with the Lightning organization to perform some acts of pure magic when it comes to contract signings. This ability has helped to form not only the Lightning’s roster but the roster of their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, as well.
Just yesterday, Yzerman made a move which will help the Syracuse Crunch in the forward position. According to a Press Release on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s official site, the team has come to terms with forward Tye McGinn on a one-year, two-way contract worth $575,000.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Unfortunately, McGinn didn’t have the season one would’ve hoped for last season. At the same time, neither did a good portion of the Tampa Bay Lightning roster. Injuries played a big part in the way the 2016-17 season played out for the young Ontario native.
After suffering an injury that claimed much of the regular season, McGinn was able to lace up his skates for a total of 21 games for the Syracuse Crunch. In this amount of time, McGinn was able to notch 10 goals and nine assists for a total of 19 points.
While these may not seem like numbers one would write home about, there is something about these numbers that will put them in another perspective. When you take his 10 goals and take into consideration his 50 Shots on Goal, he comes out with a Shooting Percentage of 20%.
The only person to best McGinn in this particular statistic is his fellow forward Brett Howden, who came up with three goals on 14 shots for a Shooting Percentage of 21.4%. When you compare these numbers to the Lightning lineup, the only player to come close last season was Lightning center Yanni Gourde, who came up with a Shooting Percentage of 20%.
The one thing McGinn doesn’t have under his belt is a lot of playing time at the NHL level. Since joining the Lightning organization before the start of the 2015-16 season, McGinn has only played two games in a Lightning uniform. He was able to register a shot on goal but was unable to find himself on the scoresheet.
Considering the tremendous amount of talented players in both the Lightning lineup and that of the Syracuse Crunch, it’s going to be like the Hunger Games earning a permanent spot on the roster. Even if McGinn finds himself with the Crunch in the upcoming season, there is still a chance he may get some time in down south.
Next: Lightning Needs A Healthy Steven Stamkos This Season
We all know injuries play a role in the game of hockey, despite how much we wish the opposite. Should one of the Lightning lineup go down for any length of time, we know for certain there are a plethora of capable players just waiting for their opportunity to make an impact. Tye McGinn is a perfect example of one of those players.