The oldest of three brothers to play in the NHL, Jamie McGinn was the first to reach the League when he debuted with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09. Siblings Tye and Brock followed in 2013, and 2015, respectively.

McGinn played junior hockey from 2004-08 with Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League. Following the 2005-06 season, he played for Canada at the World Under-18 Championship, and he was selected in the second round (No. 36) by the San Jose Sharks in the 2006 NHL Draft.

After leading Ottawa with 46 goals and 89 points in the 2006-07 season, McGinn made his professional debut with Worcester of the American Hockey League, appearing in four regular-season AHL games and six Calder Cup playoff games. McGinn was captain for Ottawa in 2007-08, his final season there.

McGinn started the 2008-09 season with Worcester but was called up by San Jose on Oct. 27, 2008. He made his NHL debut a day later against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and on Oct. 30, 2007, in his second NHL game, scored against the Detroit Red Wings for his first League goal.

McGinn would split the next two seasons between San Jose and Worcester, but made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut on April 14, 2010, and played 15 playoff games for the Sharks that spring. He got his first Stanley Cup Playoff point with an assist May 22, 2011, in Game 6 of the first round against the Vancouver Canucks.
 
The Sharks traded McGinn to the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 27, 2012 with Mike Connolly and Michael Sgarbossa for Daniel Winnik, T.J. Galiardi and a 2012 seventh-round draft pick. He made his Colorado debut March 1, 2012 and scored seven goals in first eight games with the Avalanche on the way to his first 20-goal season in the NHL.

McGinn was fourth on the Avalanche in scoring in 2012-13 with 22 points in 47 games. He scored two goals in the 2013-14 season opener, a 6-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

A back injury limited McGinn to 19 games in 2014-15, and on June 26, 2015, the Avalanche traded him and Ryan O'Reilly to the Buffalo Sabres for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher and the 31st pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. On Feb. 29, 2016, McGinn was traded by Buffalo to Anaheim for a conditional third-round draft pick. On July 1, 2016, McGinn signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Arizona Coyotes.