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Zac Rinaldo (2013-14 season) -- Update Apr. 7, 2014: Suspended four games

tymed

tymed

Registered User
Jun 11, 2007
2,939
821
British Columbia
I'm content with the organization being publicly indifferent with the disciplinarians. They continue to let down the league and players. If I'm Rinaldo or Homer and watched my teammate/player (BSchenn) be maliciously drilled into the boards twice and illegally (imho) this year alone without Shanny even turning his head to look, I show absolutely no respect to the decisions of an inadequate group of flunky disciplinarians. I think the organizational stance on this speaks more to the big picture of inconsistency than the one play.
 

BobBobrovsky*

Guest
deadhead said:
Rinaldo is brain dead, he's never going to change, if he was, at this point in his career he'd have stopped taking so many stupid penalties just to prove that he's a "tough guy," this ain't the macho man Olympics, this is NHL hockey, and if you lack skills other than skating and agitating, well, you'd better be a smart agitator and know HOW to play dirty (i.e., don't get caught) and WHEN to make a point (there are times when a penalty is worth taking, protecting a teammate, when you're 3 goals down in the 1st period and the team is asleep, etc.).

Rinaldo has no clue, and Berube isn't doing his team any favors by looking the other way at blatant stupidity - this team takes way too many bad penalties, and the Coach has to take responsibility - if there are no repercussions for stupidity that hurts the team, then players will continue to be stupid.

Discipline does not mean "nice," it means studying refs as well as other teams and understanding what you can and can't get away, pushing right up against that line but never over, and avoiding bad penalties that put your team in a hole.
Click to expand...

It's naive to expect anything else when the team's GM and coach - and I like both, btw - were basically "goons" in the NHL as players. Plus, Uncle Ed likes the team's thug image.
 
Appleyard

Appleyard

Registered User
Mar 5, 2010
31,769
41,188
Copenhagen
twitter.com
There are only 7 active forwards with over 200 GP and less PPG than Rinaldo:

Colton Orr (474 GP)
George Parros (473 GP)
Krys Barch (381 GP)
Zenon Konopka (345 GP)
Mike Brown (336 GP)
Cam Janssen (336 GP)
Brian McGratten (306 GP)

Kevin Westgarth, James Wright and Rinaldo are the only others active within a season of 200 GP.

I am not a Rinaldo hater by any means, and think that if he plays like he did for most of last year can be a useful 13th forward in the league... however, a guy like Jared Boll, Brandon Prust, Derek Dorsett, Cody McLeod or Matt Martin would be more of what you want on the 4th... just better hockey players who bring more to a game while being physical and gritty.
 
LegionOfDoom91

LegionOfDoom91

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
81,975
139,786
Philadelphia, PA
Honestly Rinaldo shouldn't see another game any time soon after seeing what that line did without him last night.

I'll take McGinn's offensive pulse over Rinaldo's hitting.
 

Clown Baby*

Guest
Appleyard said:
There are only 7 active forwards with over 200 GP and less PPG than Rinaldo:

Colton Orr (474 GP)
George Parros (473 GP)
Krys Barch (381 GP)
Zenon Konopka (345 GP)
Mike Brown (336 GP)
Cam Janssen (336 GP)
Brian McGratten (306 GP)

Kevin Westgarth, James Wright and Rinaldo are the only others active within a season of 200 GP.
Click to expand...
Tye McGinn has 7 goals through 33 games.

Zac Rinaldo has the same amount... through 165.

Something's gotta change.
 
CutOnDime97

CutOnDime97

Too Showman
Mar 29, 2008
15,589
9,786
From that interview
http://www.whizwitsports.com/1/post...ng-interview-on-the-mike-missanelli-show.html
MM: I look at that style of play as one that puts you in the penalty box and, therefore, puts your team in a worse spot. How do you respond to that?

ZR: You don't know nothing, man.

MM: I don't know nothing? Well, there are a lot of games where you have taken foolish penalties, right?

ZR: Who takes foolish penalties?

MM: You! Have you not taken foolish penalties?

ZR: How so? This year?

MM: Yeah, this year.

ZR: No.

MM: You haven't taken any foolish penalties this year?

ZR: No, sir.

MM: Have you structured your game and you're saying you used to take foolish penalties and now you don't?

ZR: No. I take penalties maybe because the refs don't think my hit's clean. But if you dissect it, like I talked to [NHL Vice President of Player Safety Brendan] Shanahan the other day and he said "we look at every single one of your penalties. We look at every single one of your hits. All your hits are clean. You know sometimes the ref disagrees with the way you hit" but he said, "the majority of your hits are clean." So, proofs in the pudding right there, he's a big man who looks at every single one of my hits.

MM: Alright Zac, let's talk about the suspension. Four games for the illegal head shot. As that play is unfolding, what are you thinking?

ZR: Have you ever played hockey?

MM: Yeah but not obviously at your level but I've played hockey.

ZR: Oh okay, then you should know things happen so fast.

MM: Okay so how does that change the way you're going to play the next time?

ZR: It doesn't. I'm just gonna hit him harder in the shoulder.
Click to expand...
 
Beef Invictus

Beef Invictus

Revolutionary Positivity
Dec 21, 2009
128,020
165,860
Armored Train
Jumping into the guy's shoulder is still illegal, Zac.

Yes, his hits are generally clean. But if he honestly believes he doesn't take dumb penalties he's in denial.
 

bauerhockey02

Registered User
Mar 15, 2009
318
0
With that mindset I would only want him in a playoff series against the Pens so that he would frustrate them. Otherwise I worry about him being a liability if he doesn't think he takes bad penalties at all.
 

Funf

Registered User
Sep 17, 2013
1,215
0
Philadelphia
Honestly, after hearing this interview, I really don't want him on this team. If he can't admit to fault, he'll never improve his game. He's a liability now, and he'll remain a liability unless he receives a serious wake up call.

Not that I was ever on the Rinaldo bandwagon before, but this cements my position.

I'll take McGinn over Rinaldo 100% of the time.
 
Striiker

Striiker

Earthquake Survivor
Jun 2, 2013
89,656
155,732
Pennsylvania
OK, let me ask something then since I'm literally right in the middle on this debate (I neither love or hate him). It seems like everyone else I've seen on this board is either completely one way or the other while I can agree with certain aspects of both sides.

Obviously he had a bad game against Buffalo considering he had multiple minors and then the hit that got him suspended. But how often before that was he really a liability? He's a the kind of player that lives right on the edge of what's allowed and what's a penalty, his job is to hit, fight, stir things up, and try to provide energy to the team. He's going to take penalties doing that and a lot of the time when he's gotten those penalties most people have argued against the refs saying he really didn't deserve it. There are times when he does deserve the penalties obviously, but personally I don't think it's often enough to call him a total liability. I think as far as penalties go I'd say Downie hurts the team a lot more, he takes them at really bad times and most of those are really stupid moves on his part. I feel like a lot of Rinaldos penalties are just him being a little too eager instead of being dirty or stupid, and usually he's not taking them at crucial times and hurting the team.

On the other side, I'd certainly rather see a player who can add a bit more skill to the lineup, even if it's a Wellwood type who isn't going to score much but has a chance to. Zac is pretty much energy or nothing since he isn't relevant offensively and isn't great defensively. You have to think, is the energy he brings important enough to the team to keep him on the 4th line? I'd say that's a decent question to ask since you can visibly see the team get pumped up on the bench, most noticeably Simmonds, when Rinaldo has a big fight or hit.

Basically, I don't buy either "He's vital to the team, we need what he brings" or "He's a liability, keep him away from the team"... I'm just not sure.
 
CutOnDime97

CutOnDime97

Too Showman
Mar 29, 2008
15,589
9,786
Striiker said:
Basically, I don't buy either "He's vital to the team, we need what he brings" or "He's a liability, keep him away from the team"... I'm just not sure.
Click to expand...
I agree, he's somewhere in the middle. He strung together a couple nice games before his incident in Buffalo. E.g.
1lwrCtb.gif



Caused Iginla to drop the gloves. Also drew a penalty on Lucic in the next meeting vs Boston.
 
Striiker

Striiker

Earthquake Survivor
Jun 2, 2013
89,656
155,732
Pennsylvania
PhilaFlyers said:
I agree, he's somewhere in the middle. He strung together a couple nice games before his incident in Buffalo. E.g.
1lwrCtb.gif



Caused Iginla to drop the gloves. Also drew a penalty on Lucic in the next meeting vs Boston.
Click to expand...

I think he also laid out a couple of big hits in both the Hawks and Blues games, and obviously they hate him in Pitt. Obviously I'm not saying he was the reason they won those games, but maybe the team got a little boost out of it that helped. Who knows, you'd have to ask them but I feel like a lot of them like him and think he helps.
 
chimrichalds18

chimrichalds18

the key
Apr 17, 2007
2,775
0
philadelphia
Striiker said:
Basically, I don't buy either "He's vital to the team, we need what he brings" or "He's a liability, keep him away from the team"... I'm just not sure.
Click to expand...

You're right that it's in the middle, though I'd probably lean more toward "He's a liability, keep him away from the team." Let's look at it like this: if Rinaldo is vital to your team, you're probably not that good. He's a fourth line player, and he's not even one of those guys like Cooke who takes up time killing penalties. Personally, I'd rather have VandeVelde in that spot.
 
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