Zac Rinaldo

Zachary Rinaldo (born June 15, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators. He is known for his rough and physical style of play and for being an enforcer.[1]

Zac Rinaldo
Rinaldo with the Boston Bruins in 2015
Born (1990-06-15) June 15, 1990
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Calgary Flames
Philadelphia Flyers
Boston Bruins
Arizona Coyotes
Nashville Predators
NHL Draft 178th overall, 2008
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2010–present

Playing career

Rinaldo grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and played his minor AAA hockey for the Hamilton Reps, Cambridge Hawks, Notre Dame Hounds and Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA). He is of Italian ancestry.

After his minor midget season with the Jr. Bulldogs, Rinaldo was drafted by the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 14th round, 270th overall, in 2006. He spent the following season with the Hamilton Red Wings Jr. A. club in 2006–07 before joining the Majors in 2007–08.

Rinaldo with the Colts.

Rinaldo was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round, 178th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. After spending another season in the OHL, on August 11, 2009, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers.[2] Rinaldo started the 2010–11 AHL season playing with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms.

Rinaldo made his NHL debut on April 22, 2011, in Game 5 of the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres, despite having more suspensions (4) than goals scored (3) for the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, in the 2010–11 season. He again made the lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins, registering two shots.

At the conclusion of the Flyers' training camp in October 2011, Rinaldo made the Flyers' opening night roster for the 2011–12 season, sharing enforcing duties with veteran Jody Shelley.

On April 17, 2013, Rinaldo signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract extension with Philadelphia.[3]

Rinaldo in October 2011.

On January 26, 2015, Rinaldo was suspended eight games for charging Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang; Rinaldo consequently forfeited US$73,170.72 in pay.[4]

Following the 2014–15 season, Rinaldo was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[5] On March 1, 2016, Rinaldo was suspended by the NHL for five games for an illegal hit delivered to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cédric Paquette in a game two days earlier. Rinaldo was promptly placed on waivers by the Bruins, which he cleared. It was his fourth suspension in five NHL seasons, and as a repeat offender, he forfeited $51,829.25 in pay.[6]

On March 4, 2016, after being sent down to the Providence Bruins of the AHL, and while his NHL suspension was still tolled,[7] Rinaldo again faced suspension for an incident in a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, his first game after being demoted. Rinaldo received a match penalty for intent to injure for a hit delivered to Bridgeport defenceman Kane Lafranchise. Rinaldo was suspended from the AHL indefinitely.[8] The AHL later announced that Rinaldo would be suspended for five games for a hit targeting the head.[9]

On July 1, 2017, having left the Bruins organization as a free agent after two seasons (and after spending the entire 2016–17 season in the minors), Rinaldo agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[10] During the 2017–18 season, Rinaldo made his return to the NHL with the Coyotes, playing his first full season since 2015, but not before having to serve the five-game suspension that had been tolled from March 2016.[7] On December 23, 2017, while playing against the Colorado Avalanche, Rinaldo sucker-punched Colorado defenceman Samuel Girard and was suspended for six games.[11]

On July 2, 2018, Rinaldo reunited with former Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette in signing as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators.[12] Rinaldo made the Predators opening night roster out of training camp, and remained with the team for the majority of the 2018–19 season, posting 1 goal and 3 points in 23 appearances.

As a free agent from the Predators, Rinaldo went un-signed over the summer before accepting an invitation to attend the Calgary Flames training camp. After a successful try-out with the Flames in the pre-season, Rinaldo was signed to a one-year, two-way $700,000 contract with Calgary on September 29, 2019.[13] On October 9, 2020, the opening day of free agency, Rinaldo was re-signed by the Flames to another one-year, two-way $700,000 contract.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs AAASCT U162691524101—————
2006–07Hamilton Red WingsOPJHL441616321931644848
2006–07Toronto St. Michael's MajorsOHL60002—————
2007–08Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL63771419140009
2008–09Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL346713112—————
2008–09London KnightsOHL224131789811226
2009–10London KnightsOHL348715148—————
2009–10Barrie ColtsOHL262810107420211
2010–11Adirondack PhantomsAHL60369331—————
2010–11Philadelphia FlyersNHL—————200012
2011–12Philadelphia FlyersNHL66279232500048
2011–12Adirondack PhantomsAHL411211—————
2012–13Adirondack PhantomsAHL3123592—————
2012–13Philadelphia FlyersNHL3232585—————
2013–14Philadelphia FlyersNHL6722415370004
2014–15Philadelphia FlyersNHL58156102—————
2015–16Boston BruinsNHL5212383—————
2015–16Providence BruinsAHL200012—————
2016–17Providence BruinsAHL2952720—————
2017–18Arizona CoyotesNHL5352744—————
2018–19Nashville PredatorsNHL2312320—————
2018–19Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL30116—————
2019–20Stockton HeatAHL1407720—————
2019–20Calgary FlamesNHL193253450004
NHL totals3701824427531900068

References
  1. Misey, Bobby (September 11, 2019). "2018-2019 Player Reviews: Zac Rinaldo". ontheforecheck.com. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. "Flyers Sign Four to Contracts". Philadelphia Flyers. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  3. Tim Panaccio (April 17, 2013). "Flyers give Rinaldo, Rosehill two-year extensions". CSNPhilly.com. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  4. Mike Brehm (January 26, 2015). "Zac Rinaldo suspended for eight games". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  5. "Flyers trade Zac Rinaldo to Boston". Philadelphia Flyers. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  6. "Bruins' Rinaldo suspended five games". The Sports Network. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  7. "Coyotes' Zac Rinaldo: Must serve suspension". CBS Sports. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  8. "Zac Rinaldo suspended indefinitely in AHL, already suspended in NHL". Sportsnet.ca. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  9. "Zac Rinaldo is now suspended in both the NHL and AHL". Yahoo! Sports. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  10. "Coyotes sign Campbell, Hanley, Rinaldo and Sislo". Arizona Coyotes. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  11. "Coyotes' Zac Rinaldo suspended six games for punching Avalanche's Samuel Girard". ESPN.com. December 27, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  12. "Preds sign Zac Rinaldo to one-year, two-way deal". Nashville Predators. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  13. "Flames sign Zac Rinaldo". Calgary Flames. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
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