Jarred Tinordi’s trade has left fans with many questions. Did Marc Bergevin get enough for him? Should they have kept him? Would nothing have been better than Victor Bartley and John Scott? Our writers answer these questions and more.
Gordon Black: I’m not sure how to feel after this odd move. I don’t know much about Bartley but if there’s one farm where a 27 year old gem could be buried on defence, it’s Nashville. I want to believe that Tinordi was traded due to honour or loyalty, or as a reward for his patience – a chance at a new start; but, it seems more like this was a forced hand with Barberio playing well and Gilbert due to return shortly. There’s a bit of asset mismanagement here, though not an expensive one. Fournier is of no consequence except what came the other way. If this is shown to be a political move, rather than a hockey move at any point, it is a dark spot on Bergevin’s record. If not, it’s just a slow news day and a door closing on a page of Habs history that was written before the current braintrust took over – although they are rapidly running out of these “blame the last guy” scenarios.
Brian La Rose: Scott’s inclusion in the trade seems to have many up in arms. The Habs didn’t target him; they don’t want him. It was nothing more than a financial inclusion by an Arizona team that is very cash-strained. (Unless you think the NHL forced the Habs to take Scott, of course.) He’ll be a non-factor with St. John’s which is more or less what Stefan Fournier was. Both players are inconsequential making this essentially a 1-for-1 deal.
Basically, the trade is a swap of #8 defencemen. Bartley has a bit more experience and is someone the coaches may have more confidence turning to than Tinordi. For Arizona, they value Tinordi higher than Elliott while the Preds prefer Elliott to Bartley. (So do I, by the way.) At the very least, Bartley can go to the minors in the next couple of weeks and provide some help to a St. John’s team that badly needs help on the back end. (Seriously, I’m all for another minor trade that sees them acquire another AHL defender.)
Bartley may not be much but he’s still a better return than merely losing Tinordi for nothing which likely would have happened had he been waived. And knowing Bergevin likes depth on defence, he’s more valuable to the team than an equivalent late round pick. With Barberio looking like he may sticking around for a while, the odds of Tinordi getting any playing time this season seems slim so holding on in the hopes of a slightly better return probably wasn’t worthwhile either.
You can make an argument that Tinordi didn’t get enough of a chance with Montreal. (I wouldn’t make that case; I more or less had him as a bust after last year.) But in terms of the here and now, he wasn’t really worth much in a trade. It’s not an exciting move by any stretch but it’s a fair one.
Alex Létourneau: Not sure what to make of all this. Pretty odd stuff, but, they gave up a failing prospect to get an All-Star. Shrewd Mr. Bergevin. In all seriousness it’s pretty clear that Tinordi had no future with the organization. He wasn’t good enough to crack the lineup and you have to assume playing in the minors and taking the spot of other development projects wasn’t in the cards anymore.
Should he have been waived? Maybe, but again, he’d fill a spot perhaps better suited for another youngster with a higher ceiling. Should they have kept him longer and try to squeeze value? To that I ask where in the last 18 months did anyone see his value increasing rather than decreasing? Anyway, depth moves are never sexy but this one has a bit of weirdness to it. Pretty sure if there’s one guy that doesn’t suit this team’s system, it’s John Scott. Did Bettman force that trade? Fodder for the forums!
Paul MacLeod: One word comes to mind on this trade: disappointing.
– Disappointing because Tinordi did not live up to his potential – with Montreal at least.
– Disappointing that Tinordi did not have more of a chance to play.
– Disappointing that after keeping him for so long, Bergevin got so little back for him.
– Disappointing that Bergevin has, so far, failed to make a bigger move for the scoring help that the team so desperately — and obviously needs.
Craig Scharien: The return for Tinordi may have been underwhelming for a former first round pick, but I‘m having a hard time getting too worked up over it. It was clear that he was unlikely to break into the lineup and when a guy only plays three games, you can’t expect all that much in return.
Though arguments can be made that poor asset management is to blame for Tinordi’s declining value, I highly doubt he would have the chance to increase his worth this season, as he had fallen behind Barberio and Pateryn on the depth chart, barring a devastating run of injuries on the back end. So, in the end we as fans need to take it for what it is – a way to create a little flexibility.
In Bartley, the Canadiens gain a guy with experience playing spot duty on an excellent blue line in Nashville who won’t have to clear waivers for nine games. He can help fill the gap while Gilbert is out (a couple more weeks according Renaud Lavoie) and then send him down when needed. The inclusion of Scott in the deal has made it something people want to talk about, but he’ll never see the ice for the Habs. His reputation as a great team guy who will stand up for his teammates may be a welcome addition in St. John’s, and hopefully the kids, like Mike McCarron, won’t have to drop the gloves as often.
In the end, both guys are UFAs at the end of the year, and one may help out in the short term, so it’s nothing to fret over. While this may not be the return or season altering trade we had hoped for, it’s a minor trade, and a fair representation of Tinordi’s value.
Norm Szcyrek: Well this trade floored me as absurd at first glance. What do the Habs need with Scott the hockey freak and NHL All-Star vote winner? After more details about the trade came in about his move to the AHL farm team then I became a little more settled with it. So long as Scott never ever dons a Habs pro jersey, then I do not really care about this trade. The accompanying defenceman Bartley is a journeyman and not likely to make any impact. Tinordi had been surpassed on the depth chart first by Nathan Beaulieu, later by Pateryn, and recently by the strong play of Barberio. He will get a better chance to make it in the NHL with another organization.