Never understood the Rinaldo hate. He's a popular guy in the locker room and a pain in the ass if you're the other team. I just don't understand why some haven't grasp the concept of what his role on the team is. He's just an energy agitating forward. As Brian Engblom said, He's a one man forecheck. He works hard and busts his ass. I appreciate that regardless of what limitations of skill he has which is overblown by his detractors around here.
Giroux is a one man forecheck. Rinaldo? Not so much, as evidenced by his being by far the worst offensive player on the team. The Flyers produce less than 1 goal per 60 minutes when Rinaldo is on the ice.
I know exactly what Rinaldo is. He's a one dimensional player who gets overrated because his one dimension is flashy and fun to watch when it works. Other than that, he's easily replaceable because as far as 4th liners go, he just isn't very good. I want to see this team as a Cup contender. To do that we're likely gonna need to be able to roll 4 lines. That's not possible with Rinaldo on the team, he is seriously that bad at hockey-things not related to running into players.
Once more, not sure how much of a pain in the ass he can be. He doesn't PK, he isn't good defensively, he's not an offensive threat, and he plays less than 8 minutes a night, generally against poor competition. So I guess there are a few shifts where the opponent's bottom 6 might get hit a few times, and that's about it.
