Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi didn’t just replay his season-ending hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach in his mind, he replayed it on tape.
“I watched the hit three, four or five times to see what happened,” Tinordi told the Tribune after practice Wednesday at Big Bear Ice Arena in Denver. “I couldn’t really see anything in the video.”
During the first period Blackhawks’ 3-2 loss at Centre Bell on Saturday, Tinordi plowed ex-Hawk Dach into the Hawks bench.
Dach tried to continue playing but appeared to have trouble putting weight on his right leg and hobbled into the tunnel. It was later determined that Dach tore his ACL and MCL.
“It was just a regular hockey play,” Tinordi said. “I didn’t feel anything. He’s a heavy kid. I felt him kind of try to reverse-hit me a little bit. But I mean, that happens in the sport. It’s a fast game, unfortunately, and things like that happen.”
On Tuesday, the Canadiens announced Dach would require surgery on his right knee and would miss the rest of the season.
“It’s just an unfortunate event,” Tinordi said of his check on Dach. “You don’t like to see players get hurt out there. I know it’s hockey and that happens — it was a hockey play — but you don’t like to see guys get injured like that, that it ends their season.
“It’s tough.”
Dach, whose brother Colton is a Hawks prospect, played his first three NHL seasons in Chicago before he was traded to Montreal on the first day of the 2022 NHL draft for first- and third-round picks that were used to select Frank Nazar and Gavin Hayes.
The following season, Dach had career highs in goals (14) and assists (24) with the Habs. He started this season with two assists in the first two games.
“He’s definitely disappointed,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said, according to the Montreal Gazette. “It’s hard, second game of the season, all that time you put in to build yourself up for this. It’s hard.”
Hawks coach Luke Richardson said of Tinordi’s hit Wednesday, “Tinner’s a total pro.”
From what Richardson saw, “It wasn’t a huge hit where he stuck his knee out and hurt him. He took him up and he went up and floated over into our bench — and we caught him softly and pushed him back — so his leg must’ve just been twisted up on the side board.
“So it wasn’t a huge run at a guy, you get a leg on leg or run him from behind. I think it just happened to be an awkward landing for the other player’s knee. It got twisted up.”
Richardson said “anybody feels bad” when an outcome like Dach’s injury occurs, but as a player you don’t overthink it.
“Tinner plays the way he plays and he’ll play that all the way through.”
Tinordi said he has thought of trying to contact Dach, but right now “I think (it’s best to) just let the dust settle a little bit.
“I think he’s probably got some things going on, he’s probably pretty disappointed and bummed right now,” Tinordi said. “I’ve been in that situation before, it’s not fun. So I’ll probably just let it sit for a little bit. And hopefully he takes care of what he needs to take care of and he can come back from it.”
Tinordi added, “I wish him a speedy recovery.”
