Boston Bruins: Making the case to re-sign Jarred Tinordi

In the middle of a rough patch this season, the Boston Bruins claimed Jarred Tinordi on waivers. When looking at how beat up the team’s defense was, it surely made sense. It also is important to remember that the left side of the defense was performing very poorly, which led the Bruins to lose quite often. Thus, the team hoped that Tinordi would help provide some stability with his defensive defenseman style of play.

For the most part, he did reach expectations with the team. Keep in mind, Tinordi is a career depth defenseman. Although the former first-round pick never developed into a star in the league, he is useful in a limited role. After being claimed by the Bruins, he would play in 14 regular-season games and did his job well. His best moment with the Bruins was when he fought Tom Wilson after his dirty hit on Brandon Carlo.

When looking at the postseason, Tinordi had to jump into the lineup after an array of injuries to the defense. He played four games in the postseason and managed to stay even with his +/- stat. That is pretty impressive when seeing as how the team completely dropped the ball against the Islanders at the end of the series. He also did this while being given more minutes than he is used to because of the limited options the Bruins had.

Tinordi is a respectable 7th defenseman.

With the Bruins already re-signing Anton Blidh, it is clear that they are looking to maintain some of their depth. When looking at the healthy scratches on the backend, Tinordi honestly is the most stable. Jakub Zboril may be younger, but he is far more prone to making mistakes. Steven Kampfer is more suitable for the AHL, while also being 32-years-old and likely to decline significantly.

With Tinordi also being a big body, he does play with a physical edge that is always welcomed to the lineup. Many fans are unhappy with the team’s defense for being on the smaller side, so Tinordi does offer a bit of change when given the opportunity to play.

What also is appealing with a Tinordi re-signing is that he would come at a cheap price. It is hard to envision him expecting more than a $1 million on his contract. He likely would get less, too. This, in turn, makes him a respectable backup option. He also clearly has the respect of his teammates because of his willingness to continuously stand up for them as well.

Overall, Tinordi plays the game like a true Bruin. Although he will never light up the league offensively, he is the type of player they need for insurance next season. He just needs to stay healthy to be most effective.