News broke Monday that depth winger Carter Ashton would be playing the 2015-16 season in Europe instead of another season in the AHL. With a hole created by that decision, the Tampa Bay Lightning made a free agent singing on Tuesday, inking 24 year old left wing Tye McGinn to a one year, two-way contract.
Ashton and McGinn do compare – both are left wings, both stand over 6 feet in height (McGinn is 6’2″, Ashton is 6’3″), weigh over 200 pounds, were selected a year apart in the NHL draft (Ashton was selected in the 1st round of 2009 while McGinn was selected in the 4th round of the 2010 draft by the Philadelphia Flyers). The major difference between the two is that… well, McGinn has actually scored NHL goals (he’s played with the Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes – 87 games total – with 9 goals and 8 assists) while Ashton’s production has been 3 assists, total, in 54 NHL games in his career (all played with the Toronto Maple Leafs).
