Rinaldo ejected in AHL during NHL suspension
Zac Rinaldo just can’t seem to stop finding trouble on the ice.
Earlier this week the veteran forward was handed a five-game suspension from the NHL — his fourth suspension in five seasons — for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette. Because the Bruins sent him to Providence of the American Hockey League after the game (he was placed on waivers before the game and went unclaimed) he will not begin serving the suspension until he gets called back up to the NHL and is eligible to continue playing in the AHL.
It did not take him long to do something that might earn him a suspension in that league.
Rinaldo was ejected from Providence’s game — his first game with the team since he was sent down — against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night for an illegal check to the head of Kane Lafranchise.
Zac Rinaldo hits Kane Lafranchise in the head and gets five minutes plus a game misconduct #BRIvsPRO
— The Sound Tigers (@TheSoundTigers) March 5, 2016
Video of the hit has yet to surface, but if it does we will add it here.
During his NHL career Rinaldo has appeared in 275 career games, scoring nine goals and recording 655 penalty minutes. He has been suspended four different times for a total of 19 games. His longest suspension was an eight-game ban for boarding Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang last season and followed it up by joking that he changed the game with the hit.
Given Rinaldo’s track record he is getting dangerously close to getting the Raffi Torres or Matt Cooke treatment in the form of a massive suspension that sends a real message that it’s time to change the way he plays (Torres has 25- and 41-game suspensions on his résumé, while Cooke had a 17-game ban a few years ago) because these smaller banishments clearly aren’t getting through.
The Bruins traded a third-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers this past summer to acquire Rinaldo. He still has one more year on his current contract with the team at a salary cap hit of $850,000.
Zac Rinaldo could be in trouble again.(USATSI)
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