The Springfield Thunderbirds have signed a forward TJ Tynan to a one-year American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season.
One of the most decorated AHL players of the past decade, Tynan returns to Springfield where he began his professional career in 2014. Since then, he has recorded 113 goals and 579 assists for 692 points in 760 AHL games with the Springfield Falcons, Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters, Chicago Wolves, Colorado Eagles, Colorado Eagle Resers.
Tynan ranks seventh in league history in assists, behind Willie Marshall (852), Fred Glover (814), Mike Nykoluk (686), Tim Tookey (621), Keith Aucoin (613) and Cal O’Reilly (606). He is one of only two players (Art Stratton) to lead the league in assists four times in his career.
The Orland Park, Ill. native won the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player in 2020-21 and 2021-22, the fifth player ever to win the honor in consecutive seasons. He was voted to the postseason AHL All-Star in 2020-21 (Pacific Division), 2021-22 (First Team) and 2022-23 (Second Team), and participated in the AHL All-Star Classic four times.
Tynan added nine goals and 42 assists for 51 points in 85 games last season in the AHL, winning the Calder Cup with Lake Erie in 2016 and reaching the Finals with Chicago in 2019.
In 2025-26, Tynan helped Colorado advance to the Western Conference Finals, recording 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 17 playoff games after posting three goals and 47 assists for 50 points in 67 regular season outings.
Originally a third-round pick by Columbus in the 2011 NHL Draft, Tynan played 31 games in the NHL with the Blue Jackets, Avalanche and Kings, including two assists.
