The Chicago Blackhawks will have plenty of big decisions to make over the offseason, but they’ve already taken care of one of their pending free agents, as they’ve reportedly agreed to terms on an extension with defenseman Jarred Tinordi.
According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, the new one-year deal will pay Tinordi $1.25 million next season.
The defenseman was claimed off of waivers by the Blackhawks earlier this year from the New York Rangers, and after a career that has seen him make stops in a slew of NHL cities, he finally found a regular place in their lineup, with two goals and six assists in 44 games.
Even though he’s finally found a regular role in what is now his seventh NHL stop, the road has been a tough one even this season for Tinordi.
Earlier this season, Tinordi was forced to miss time after taking a skate blade to the chin during a game, which required somewhere between 50-and-100 stitches.
A short time after that, Tinordi tried to return to the lineup, but was felled again after he was struck in the face by a puck, causing facial fractures that left him out of action for two months.
Recently he has become a sparkplug for the team and a veteran enforcer on the ice, tasked with protecting some of the team’s budding prospects as the club continues on its path toward a rebuild.
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He will be asked to continue to be that wily presence in the lineup next season as the Blackhawks work in more young blue liners, with players like Wyatt Kaiser and others needing regular playing time to hone their skills.
The Blackhawks will return to the ice on Tuesday night when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for their penultimate game of the season.
The Blackhawks are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the league’s worst record with two games to go, and own a tiebreaker thanks to a lower points percentage, with Columbus having three games left on their schedule.
If the teams finish tied in the standings, the Blue Jackets will earn the top spot in the NHL Draft Lottery by virtue of their lower total number of regulation victories.