Minor Signings: 07/03/26
Although the overwhelming majority of the heavy lifting is done for much of the league, teams continue to scour the free agent market to address their depth and improve their AHL affiliates. Today, several recognizable names have signed, and we will continue to update the list throughout the day. Here are today’s minor signings:
- The Syracuse Crunch, AHL affiliates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, have signed veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi to a one-year AHL contract extension. As is customary with AHL deals, the financial terms were not disclosed and are not expected to be made public. The 34-year-old spent all of last season in Syracuse, posting eight points and 84 penalty minutes in 44 games. The 6’6″, 230-pound rearguard is a veteran of over 200 NHL games but hasn’t appeared at the game’s highest level since getting into 52 contests with the 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks. He was a key penalty-killer for the Crunch last season and is likely to resume that role in the fall.
- The Rochester Americans (BUF) signed veteran center Matthew Peca to a two-year AHL contract. Peca, 33, spent the last three seasons as captain of the Springfield Thunderbirds before a trade to the Crunch late in 2025-26. An all-situations, do-it-all No. 1 center at the AHL level, Peca is expected to take on a substantial role for the Americans. Rochester is almost certain to lose its top center from last season, Konsta Helenius, to the NHL, so Peca’s signing is an important addition for the club. A former AHL All-Star, Peca scored 47 points in 63 games last season and has 404 points in 544 career AHL contests.
- The Thunderbirds, who made a deep postseason run despite trading Peca away in the middle of last season, have signed veteran AHL star T.J. Tynan to a one-year contract. Tynan, 34, has achieved just about everything a player could hope to accomplish at the AHL level: he’s a two-time league MVP, has led the league in assists three times, been named an All-Star four times, has served as team captain, and even won a Calder Cup title. While the 5’8″, 160-pound forward has been limited to just 31 career NHL games and hasn’t scored his first NHL goal, he has established himself as one of the AHL’s legitimate stars. While his goal-scoring is down into the single digits, he did manage 50 points in 67 games for the Colorado Eagles last season, and will almost certainly feature on the first line for the Thunderbirds in the fall.
- The Providence Bruins have made a signing to bolster their defense, adding blueliner Tobie Bisson on a one-year AHL contract. Although Bisson has yet to make his NHL debut, the 29-year-old has racked up 321 career games played at the AHL level and established himself as a legitimate top-four defenseman in the league. Bisson occupied a top-four role for the Laval Rocket in 2025-26, also serving as a key penalty killer for the club. That’s the kind of role Bruins fans can expect him to take on next season.
- The Utica Comets re-signed captain Ryan Schmelzer to a one-year AHL contract extension, per a team announcement. The 32-year-old pivot has captained the Comets since 2021-22, and has been a staple of the Devils’ minor-league teams since their affiliate was the Binghamton Devils. A native of Western New York, Schmelzer has stayed in the state for the entirety of his hockey career, stretching back to his junior hockey days captaining the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. He captained Canisius college and signed out of the NCAA with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder before joining Binghamton the following fall. While Schmelzer’s production has declined from his career-high of 52 points (2023-24 season) he still managed 27 points in 66 games last year. He is still waiting on the chance to make his NHL debut.
- The Comets also re-signed goaltender Jeremy Brodeur and forward Jack Malone, while adding defenseman Eamon Powell, forward Gabe Klassen, and goaltender Seth Eisele as free agents. Malone, 25, has spent the last two seasons with Utica and has 22 points in 103 career AHL games. Brodeur, 29, is the son of legendary New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and posted a .908 save percentage in 41 games at the ECHL level last year. Powell, 24, had seven points in 23 games for Charlotte as a rookie AHL defenseman last season, and previously spent five years as a strong NCAA blueliner with Boston College. Klassen, 23, is a two-time WHL All-Star who scored 43 points in 65 ECHL games as a rookie pro in 2024-25. He made it to the AHL on a full-time basis last season and impressed, scoring 17 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Eisele, 27, has a .917 save percentage in 50 games played across his two-year ECHL career.
- The Rocket have announced the signings of four players to AHL contracts. Defenseman Braden Haché, 23, has signed a two-year, one-way deal after registering 11 points and 120 penalty minutes in 72 games for the San Jose Barracuda last season. Goaltenders Hunter Jones and Kevin Mandolese have each signed one-year, one-way contracts. Mandolese, 25, split last season between spot starts for the AHL’s Crunch and Charlotte Checkers, and playing in 12 games for HKm Zvolen in the Slovak league. Jones, also 25, spent most of last season in the ECHL with Trois-Rivières Lions, going 17-10-1 with a .917 save percentage. The team also signed netminder Francesco Lapenna, 23, to a one-year, two-way deal. Lapenna made nearly 150 starts across four different QMJHL clubs in his junior hockey days, and has been one of the best goalies in Canadian USports hockey over the last three years. He dipped his toes in the waters of pro hockey late in 2025-26, posting a 5-0-1 record and .959 save percentage in six games with Trois-Rivières.
- Iowa announced the signings of six players to AHL contracts yesterday. Forwards Bradley Marek, Gerald Mayhew, Nick Rhéaume, and Braidan Simmons-Fischer signed one-year, one-way deals, while defenseman Mike Koster and forward Drew Kuzma signed one-year, two-way contracts. All but Rhéaume and Kuzma played for Iowa at some point last season. The biggest name here is Mayhew, a 33-year-old veteran who first played for Iowa in 2017. Mayhew has a career-high of 61 points in the AHL and led the team in scoring last season with 22 goals and 42 points. He also has 57 career NHL games played and 13 career NHL goals. Marek, 25, has 25 points in 109 games for Iowa across the last two years. Simmons-Fischer, who stands 6’7″, 220 pounds, posted 10 points in 40 ECHL games for the Allen Americans in 2025-26 and got into six games for Iowa. Rhéaume, 24, notched 15 goals, 33 points, and 137 penalty minutes for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones last season. Koster, a 2019 fifth-round pick, split last year between ECHL Iowa (38 games) and AHL Iowa (13 games), while Kuzma, 23, was a spring ECHL signing out of Lindenwood University and had eight points in 13 games for the Greensboro Gargoyles.
- The Calgary Wranglers signed three players to AHL contracts: Luke Philp, Carter Wilkie, and Ryder Boulton. Philp is the big name of the group as he has some NHL experience. The Canmore, Alberta native played for the Flames’ AHL affiliate (then based out of Stockton, California) from 2019 to 2022, posting 21 goals and 44 points in 66 games during the 2021-22 campaign. Philp has a career-high of 29 goals and 53 points in 60 AHL games from the 2022-23 season. This past season, he scored 35 points in 52 games for Färjestad BK of the SHL. Boulton, 20, is the son of former NHL enforcer Eric Boulton and scored eight points in 48 games for the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs last season, winning an OHL Title and Memorial Cup. Wilkie, a 26-year-old center, was in the Flames organization last year and split 2025-26 between the AHL and ECHL levels.
- 28-year-old center Garrett Pilon, who has three times crossed the 40-point plateau at the AHL level, signed a deal with Barys Astana in the KHL. The move confirms his exit from North American professional hockey after an eight-year career spent mostly in the AHL. Pilon does have three career NHL games and has scored his first NHL goal. The 28-year-old is a 2016 third-round pick by the Washington Capitals who won a Calder Cup championship with the team in 2024. Pilon earned an AHL salary of $300K last season, playing out the final year of a two-year, two-way contract he signed in the summer after winning that championship.
- Former Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco has signed with his hometown team, HC Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga, according to a team announcement. A Kosice native, Jurco played for the club in youth hockey but left in 2009 to join the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. A Calder Cup champion with 221 games of NHL experience, Jurco has spent the last half-decade in the KHL, most recently with Tolyatti Lada. While he has yet to feature in the country’s top domestic league, Jurco has represented Slovakia internationally, and was part of the country’s historic bronze medal win at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
This page will be updated as more signings are announced throughout the day.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Tinordi
Unless something changes, the Boston Bruins will return their two top performers on their upcoming road trip. After an update from Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, indicating that Charlie McAvoy shed the non-contact jersey for today’s practice, Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reported that both McAvoy and David Pastrňák are expected to return over the next few days.
Even getting one of McAvoy or Pastrňák back would be a major boost to the Bruins. After McAvoy exited the lineup on November 15th after gruesomely taking a puck to the face, the team has gone 5-5-0. It’s been a little better without Pastrňák, as they’ve gone 3-2-0 in their last five.
Still, considering that Boston has unexpectedly moved into second place in the Atlantic Division, the team will want to have McAvoy and Pastrňák in the lineup as much as possible to qualify for a postseason spot. The Bruins are only two points removed from being out of a playoff spot, and have played more games than multiple teams in the Eastern Conference. Considering how wide-open the playoff race is this season, Boston has a legitimate opportunity to reach the postseason again, and McAvoy and Pastrňák will surely play a large role in that.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Moving to Toronto, the Maple Leafs may also return a pair of injured players in the next few days. According to David Alter of The Hockey News, defenseman Chris Tanev is no longer skating in a non-contact jersey. Additionally, Alter reported similarly on defenseman Marshall Rifai, who has also shed his non-contact jersey. Tanev has missed much of the 2025-26 campaign due to an upper-body injury, and his absence has played a significant role in the Maple Leafs allowing over 31 shots a game from their opponents.
- Former first-round pick Jarred Tinordi has found his way back to professional hockey for a 14th consecutive season. Earlier today, the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch announced they have signed Tinordi to a contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign. Tinordi, 33, spent last season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, scoring one goal and five points in 30 games with a +5 rating.
Jarred Tinordi Seeking Opportunity
Insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared earlier today that Jarred Tinordi has been cleared after a knee surgery in the summer, and he is now hoping to resume his career. The defenseman spent 2024-25 with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers before the injury, and last played in the NHL with the Blackhawks two seasons ago.
Drafted 22nd overall by Montreal in 2010, Tinordi, 6’6”, once projected as a reliable stay-at-home top four defenseman, but things did not quite pan out. Son of NHL defender Mark Tinordi, Jarred had the pedigree to go along with strong reach and defensive upside. A physical force on the London Knights, he recorded just 30 points in his OHL career, and as the game evolved into the 2010s, players in his mold seldom appeared as high draft picks any longer.
Unable to break through with the Canadiens, Tinordi was dealt to Arizona in early 2016, in a controversial trade involving All-Star-to-be, John Scott. He appeared in just seven games with the ‘Yotes, spending 2016-17 with AHL Tucson. His one goal on the season went into the history books however, the first in the Roadrunners’ home debut as a franchise.
After a stop in the Penguins’ system, Tinordi signed with the Predators, set to serve as captain of their affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. By this point, he was a strong AHL player with leadership qualities, but any sustained NHL future seemed out of the picture. Tinordi worked his way up to the Preds lineup in 2019-20, appearing in 28 games and scoring his first NHL goal, at age 27, a sign of his resilience. One year later, in 2021, he was waived, leading to short stops with the Bruins and Rangers. Tinordi, then 30, was picked up by the Blackhawks.
No less than a decade of grinding away between the AHL and NHL, across six different organizations, Tinordi’s determination paid off in 2022-23 as he became a full time NHLer for Chicago. The veteran played in 96 games for the Hawks, and while the numbers were not pretty, especially suiting up for a rebuilding team, Tinordi brought needed physicality and leadership to a team in darker times.
Tinordi caught on with Calgary last season, on a two-way deal, where he served as an alternate captain with the Wranglers before the injury. Now healthy, NHL opportunities are not likely for the defender who will turn 34 in February, especially coming off knee surgery, and with the game faster than ever. Yet considering everything he has been through, it would be nice to see an AHL team pick up the veteran to continue his tenure in North America. In September it was speculated the Blackhawks organization might have interest. Regardless of what comes next, Tinordi was able to carve out a long career despite not meeting initial expectations, with 205 games at the highest level.
Image credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Rookie Camp Notes: Tinordi, Luchanko, Molendyk
Although he’s a year removed from playing with the team, there’s some speculation that defenseman Jarred Tinordi could return to the Chicago Blackhawks this fall on a professional tryout agreement. According to Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio, Tinordi was on the ice before the first day of Chicago’s rookie camp in full team equipment.
Tinordi played for the Blackhawks from 2022 to 2024, primarily as a spot defenseman during the team’s ongoing rebuild, which involved phasing in young talent. Throughout two years with Chicago, Tinordi scored two goals and 17 points in 96 games with a -44 rating, averaging 16:01 of ice time per night. He provided some value with his ability to block shots and his physicality, but his spot on the roster became void as the Blackhawks continued to graduate their prospects.
Failing to find another opportunity at the NHL level, the former first-round pick spent the season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, affiliated with the Calgary Flames. In his first AHL action in two years, Tinordi recorded one goal and five points in 30 games with a +5 rating.
Other notes from rookie camp:
- A few days ago, it was reported that Jett Luchanko, who’s been recovering from a groin injury throughout the summer, may miss a few days of the Philadelphia Flyers’ rookie camp as he continues to rehab. Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reported earlier that Luchanko was not on the ice for the first day of Flyers’ rookie camp, but that isn’t expected to last much longer. Sharing an update from General Manager Daniel Brière, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported that Luchanko’s absence today was purely precautionary, and even if he can’t participate in rookie camp, he’ll be a full attendee at training camp.
- In an unfortunate incident at the Nashville Predators’ rookie camp, prospect defenseman Tanner Molendyk left the ice and didn’t return partway through practice. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reported that Molendyk ran into the open stanchion after delivering a hit and left after spending some time on the bench. Daugherty cautioned that Molendyk’s departure from practice is likely precautionary, but it’s a situation worth monitoring since Molendyk is one of Nashville’s top prospects.
Islanders Looking To Add Left Defense Amid Injuries
Injury ruled out all three of the New York Islanders’ starting left-defensemen in their loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday. And while both Alexander Romanov and Mike Reilly are only listed as day-to-day, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News shares that the absences could push New York to add more defensive depth via waivers or trade. Rosner points out that the move would be similar to the Islanders’ acquisition of Robert Bortuzzo and Reilly.
The Islanders are once again in a very difficult spot because of injuries to their blue-line. It’s the same spot that held them back last season, and their only response this season has so far been sheltered roles for Dennis Cholowski, Samuel Bolduc, and Grant Hutton. The depleted blue-line is only propped up by star Ryan Pulock, who’s had to take on a role playing on his off-side. But his 30 minutes of ice time on Sunday is unsustainable – and the holes in the lineup have shown that more support is quickly needed to keep the left-side afloat.
New York won’t find much help on a free agent market crowded with right-defenders but depleted of left-shots. Mark Giordano stands as perhaps the top option. He skated as the NHL’s oldest player last season but has expressed interest in playing out one more season. He managed a measly nine points in 46 games with Toronto last year, serving in an often inconsistent role. But despite changing responsibilities, Giordano showed a routine ability to move the puck up the ice – even as he seemed slow elsewhere. He won’t bring too much of a spark, but could man a depth role without needing much oversight.
For more of a kick, New York will have to turn towards a currently dried-up trade market. Cheap and quick acquisitions could sit a the bottom of some NHL depth charts. That’s presently where Jake Bean, John Ludvig, and Brendan Smith slot into their respective lineups – and all three stand to bring the same impact of the Bortuzzo and Reilly acquisitions last year. They’re each on a new team this year – Bean and Smith choosing their landing spots in unrestricted free agency, and Ludvig landing in Colorado via waivers. It’s a trio that brings a spectrum of abilities – Bean the offensive-defenseman and Smith the shutdown depth-role, with Ludvig finding his footing in between. Those similarities could be the perfect mix to both pique the interest of both parties in potential trade talks. New York similarly bought Bortuzzo and Reilly from the bottom of depth charts last season, and will need the same confident trading if they want to bring in support quickly.
With waivers mentioned alongside trades, it’s not likely that the Islanders spend much on any new pieces. But their season is slipping quickly, with star Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair also catching the injury bug alongside multiple defenders. The Islanders boast a 4-6-2 record through 12 games, second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. They’ll hope to be aggressive on any imminent waiver placements, but general manager Lou Lamoriello may need to take the initiative to make a trade before things fall too far.
Waiver Wire: 10/3/24
All 12 players placed on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. PuckPedia relays that 17 new names hit the wire today for teams to claim over the next 24 hours:
Calgary Flames
F Walker Duehr
F Dryden Hunt
D Jarred Tinordi
Florida Panthers
F Rasmus Asplund
D Tobias Björnfot
F Zac Dalpe
D Jaycob Megna
Nashville Predators
Seattle Kraken
Toronto Maple Leafs
Utah Hockey Club
F Andrew Agozzino
D Patrik Koch
F Ben McCartney
Winnipeg Jets
F Axel Jonsson-Fjällby
D Simon Lundmark
F Mason Shaw
F Dominic Toninato
Flames Sign Jarred Tinordi To Two-Way Deal
The Flames have inked depth defenseman Jarred Tinordi to a two-way deal, per PuckPedia. He’ll earn $800K in the NHL, $350K in the minors, and an overall $425K guarantee this season, per a team announcement.
Tinordi, 32, has embarked on a journeyman career since being drafted 22nd overall by the Canadiens in 2010. The stay-at-home defender has suited up in minor league/seventh defensemen roles for seven NHL organizations over his 12-year run in the pros, also including the Coyotes, Penguins, Predators, Bruins, Rangers, and, most recently, the Blackhawks. He played NHL games in nine of those 12 seasons.
After spending most of his career as an NHL/AHL tweener or an outright minor-league option, Tinordi found some stability in Chicago after the Blackhawks claimed him off waivers from the Rangers on the eve of the 2022-23 regular season. The 6’6″, 229-lb enforcer has avoided an AHL assignment since arriving in the Windy City, making the past two years just the second and third seasons he’s spent solely in the majors after splitting the 2020-21 campaign between Nashville and Boston.
Tinordi’s numbers have been ugly with the Hawks in bottom pairing minutes, but that’s to be expected for a veteran depth fixture logging semi-regular minutes on one of the league’s worst teams. He’s posted two goals and 15 assists for 17 points with a -44 rating and 104 PIMs in 96 games for the Blackhawks over the last two seasons. His 171 hits ranked second on the team last season behind Nick Foligno‘s 192, while his 64 PIMs led the club.
He was an unrestricted free agent this summer for the first time since signing a two-year deal in the Big Apple in 2021. Chicago signed him to a one-year, $1.25MM extension in April of last year, keeping him off the open market.
Tinordi shouldn’t be ruled out entirely from making the opening night roster, but it does seem unlikely if the organization decides to carry seven defensemen as compared to eight. The left-shot defender could be an extra option in the latter scenario, but he’s unlikely to unseat offseason acquisitions Kevin Bahl and Jake Bean for regular playing time on the left side of Calgary’s defense depth chart.
That makes Tinordi’s most likely destination this season the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers if he clears waivers, where he’ll play a mentor role to blue-line prospects like Hunter Brzustewicz, Artem Grushnikov and Yan Kuznetsov.
Blackhawks Place Luke Philp On Waivers, Jarred Tinordi On IR
Feb. 14: Philp cleared waivers on Wednesday and can head to Rockford, Friedman said.
Feb. 13: The Blackhawks have activated forward Luke Philp off season-opening injured reserve and placed on waivers with the intent to assign him to AHL Rockford, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.
Philp, 28, did not participate in training camp with Chicago after undergoing Achilles surgery in August. He’s now close to resuming game action after making his NHL debut last season and will do so with Rockford.
With the Blackhawks’ near-consistent rash of injuries on offense this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philp get another NHL look before the 2023-24 campaign wraps up. He’s been a consistent top-six presence in the minors since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2019, capping things off with a career-high 29 goals and 53 points in 60 games with Rockford last season.
He recorded one assist in three games with Chicago in 2022-23, averaging 11:41 per game through a pair of appearances in January and one in March. The Canmore, Alberta native is slated for unrestricted free agency this summer after completing a one-year, two-way extension with a minimum guaranteed salary of $425K.
His spot on IR has been taken by veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi, whose placement is retroactive to Feb. 7 with a groin injury, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. The 31-year-old missed Friday’s game against the Rangers and has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Canucks. Signed to a one-year, $1.25MM extension, Tinordi has six assists and a -19 rating in 30 games.
Injury Notes: Tinordi, Kapanen, Smith
Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi has a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision against the Rangers on Friday, head coach Luke Richardson said Friday (via Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago). 22-year-old rookie Louis Crevier will make his first appearance since Chicago recalled him from AHL Rockford on Wednesday if Tinordi can’t play, Richardson said.
Tinordi, 31, last played with 6:53 remaining in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Wild. He did not take the ice for his defensive partner Isaak Phillips‘ final two shifts.
The physical depth blue-liner has played in 30 of Chicago’s 51 games this season, recording six assists and a -19 rating while averaging 15:44 per game. A first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2010, Tinordi has worked his way into a stable NHL job with the rebuilding Blackhawks after they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season.
His value to Chicago comes in the form of pro experience and leadership, however – not so much from his on-ice performance. Tinordi’s 38.7% Corsi share at even strength is the worst among qualified Blackhawks skaters, although that figure is no doubt exacerbated by his sparingly low usage in the offensive zone.
Crevier hasn’t been much of an upgrade in his first 15 NHL showings. The 2020 seventh-round pick has similar offensive and possession numbers to Tinordi in nearly the same usage.
The 6-foot-6, 229-pound Tinordi will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He signed a one-year, $1.25MM extension to remain with Chicago last April after playing a career-high 44 games that season.
Other minor injury updates from around the league to close out the week:
- Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen is ready to return from a lower-body injury ahead of Saturday’s game against the Sabres, interim head coach Drew Bannister said (via Lou Korac of NHL.com). Kapanen, 27, missed seven games with a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 15 against the Flyers. St. Louis has an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to take Kapanen off injured reserve. Despite scoring only four times in 42 games this season, he’s projected to return in a top-six role alongside Jake Neighbours and Brayden Schenn. Now in the second year of a two-year, $6.4MM contract ($3.2MM cap hit), the 2014 first-round pick has 12 goals and 27 points in 65 games with the Blues after they claimed him off waivers from the Penguins in February 2023.
- Devils defenseman Brendan Smith will remain out on Saturday against the Hurricanes with a knee sprain, head coach Lindy Ruff said (via Amanda Stein of the Devils’ official site). The 35-year-old has been upgraded to day-to-day after landing on injured reserve over three weeks ago, however, and could be an option as soon as Monday against the Kraken. A depth free-agent add in the summer of 2022, Smith has logged time on both defense and left wing this season while occupying a veteran enforcer role. Signed to a contract with a $1.1MM cap hit that expires this summer, he’s posted a goal and four assists in 34 games while averaging 14:25 per contest. AHL call-up Santeri Hatakka has been serviceable in Smith’s absence, posting an assist and a +6 rating while shouldering bottom-pairing minutes in five games.
Blackhawks Activate Jarred Tinordi
The Blackhawks activated defenseman Jarred Tinordi from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Canadiens, as reflected in CapFriendly’s transactions log. In two corresponding moves, defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Filip Roos were returned to AHL Rockford from their emergency loans.
Tinordi, 31, is in the lineup tonight for the first time in over two weeks. He last suited up on December 5 against the Predators but left late in the game and immediately entered concussion protocol. He was retroactively placed on injured reserve within the week, though head coach Luke Richardson said yesterday that Tinordi was nearing a return (via Scott Powers of The Athletic).
It has been a trying season for Tinordi, as he already missed most of November with an oblique injury. The 2010 first-round pick has never truly solidified himself as an everyday NHL player, but he’s a de facto top-six defenseman for a Blackhawks team missing their top pair of Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic due to injuries, not to mention their existing paper-thin depth. Last season, his first in Chicago, Tinordi played a career-high 44 games and logged no minor-league time for just the second instance of his pro career. Since making his NHL debut with the Canadiens in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Tinordi has appeared in 165 games for the Predators, Coyotes, Bruins, and Rangers in addition to Montreal and Chicago, scoring four goals, eight assists, 22 points, and posting a -40 rating while averaging 15:19 per game.
The bruising 6-foot-6, 230-pound defender has a snarl to his game but carries little else in the form of offensive or defensive upside. His possession numbers routinely rank near the bottom of the league, posting a cumulative career Corsi share of 44.6% at even strength – a remarkably low number given his 100-plus game run in the league. Tonight, he occupies a second-pairing role alongside Louis Crevier in his return to the lineup.
Kaiser and Roos return to Rockford after being recalled under emergency conditions in direct response to Jones’ and Tinordi’s injuries earlier this month, respectively.