Veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi has been claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks, further weakening the Rangers’ blue line depth. Signed last year as a free agent, Tinordi was in the final year of a two year deal, having played just seven games for the Rangers.
Tinordi made the opening night roster, and even played against the Washington Capitals in the 5-2 season opening loss, but quickly lost his regular spot to Nils Lundkvist, and then Braden Schneider, ultimately being reassigned to play in Hartford.
The 6-6 defender and son of former Ranger Mark Tinordi, struggled to make an impression with the New York, with his limited mobility and inability to adjust to the speed of forwards coming at him in his own zone.
While Tinordi didn’t figure to play much of a part in the Rangers season this year, his loss does further expose the lack of depth in the organization, with Libor Hajek projected to be the 7th defensemen, and Andy Welinski now slotted to be the only other blueliner in the organization with NHL experience, with 46 games, the last coming for Anaheim in the 2020-21 seaosn. Next in line is likely to be Matthew Robertson, who was a relatively early cut at camp, and appears to not have the confidence yet of Gerard Gallant.
With 11 defensemen used in each of the past two seasons, the Rangers appear to be a player or two short on the blueline, especially when considering that they’re also using the relatively inexperienced Zac Jones as their 6th blueliner.
It’s possible they could offer a contract to Matt Bartkowski, who was released yesterday from his PTO, though Bartkowksi has played only three NHL games in the last four seasons. They could also look and see what other options may be available on the trade market, or perhaps other PTOs that didn’t pan out.
In other news, forward Julien Gauthier has cleared, and was reassigned to Hartford. The Rangers had been looking for a trade partner for the 6-4 forward, but as evidenced by clearing waivers, there appears to be little interest in the soon to be 25 year old.
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