Wranglers alternate captain Jarred Tinordi contributed off ice-leadership in injury riddled season

Jarred Tinordi was a late pick up for the Calgary Flames prior to the start of the regular season. The left-shooting defenceman filled a tweener role to help a historically well-playing AHL team continue to develop and to provide a reliable call up for the Flames if and when he was needed. Unfortunately, Tinordi didn’t get the full season he would’ve hoped for.

Tinordi was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens back in 2010 and was selected 22nd overall in the NHL draft. He finished up his junior career with the London Knights before making his professional debut with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2012-13 season. His first NHL games were in the same season with the Montreal Canadiens.

Tinordi has bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL his entire career and has played a total of 205 NHL games and over 450 games in the AHL. He came with a wealth of experience through the Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks’ NHL clubs. 

2024-25 expectations

Jarred Tinordi came to the Flames’ organization off the back of NHL play. His last two seasons were played with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had eight points in 44 games in the 2022-23 season and nine points in 52 games in the 2023-24 season. It wasn’t completely clear where he stood in the depth chart, but with his experience, he was expected to be an option for a Flames call-up if he did not make the NHL roster. Tinordi was expected to be a solid pairing option for some of the developing defenders and to get a full year of hockey after some shortened seasons in recent years. 

He was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Flames on Sept. 10, and once things got going, he was assigned to the Wranglers to start the season. 

2024-25 results

Tinordi ended up spending the whole season with the Wranglers but his play was cut short by season ending lower-body surgery in late February. He was appointed as one of the team’s alternate captains at the beginning of the year and when he was in the lineup, he played on a variety of pairings with Jeremie Poirier, Ilya Solovyov, and Jonathan Aspirot. Prior to his surgery he had quite a few weeks in late 2024 where he was out with a lower body injury.

He finished the season with 30 games played and five points in that time consisting of one goal and four assists. His plus/minus was +5 in those games and his last game was on Feb. 15 against the Ontario Reign. His lone goal of the season came on Nov. 9 against the Henderson Silver Knights. 

Tinordi was obviously discouraged he couldn’t get a full season in, especially when the team faced adversity and said at Wranglers exit meetings:

“Kind of in between injuries or before I got hurt, I started playing some of my best hockey and, you know, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help the team coming down the stretch.”

Next season’s expectations

With a season-ending injury hitting him last year at the age of 33, it’s quite likely we’ve seen the last of Tinordi in the Flames’ organization. He served as a great off-ice leader for the team, so if he is to return, that type of role can still benefit the Wranglers.

Tinordi stayed connected with the team through his recovery process and said:

“I just tried to be around as much as possible. I was going through my rehab and taking care of what I needed to. I know what it’s like when you’re playing and things aren’t going well, emotions are tight at the rink. Sometimes the atmosphere isn’t that great when things aren’t going well. So I just tried to be loose when you guys show up. I mean know we got to work, but also, it’s supposed to be fun. I think it’s hard to work through stuff like that when you’re not having fun. So the tighter we can be, the looser we can be at the rink while also taking care of business. I just tried to bring that when I was around.”

At this point in the summer, Tinordi remains without a contract and is a restricted free agent, but he was looking forward to ramping up his off-season training once he finishes up his injury rehab.