The Boston Bruins added another forward to their roster on Monday when the team announced it acquired Zac Rinaldo from the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round draft pick in 2017.
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Rinaldo had one goal and six points in 58 games last season. He has also racked up 572 penalty minutes in that time.
Rinaldo has played in 223 NHL games over the last five years, putting him at roughly 45 games played per NHL season.
It sure seems like Boston Bruins president Cam Neely was serious when he said he wanted to see his team return to the big, bad Bruin Way.
New Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is hearing criticism in Boston for his draft selections and for failing to get enough when he dealt defenseman Dougie Hamilton to Calgary. And now, he’s just straight up embarrassing other general managers.
The move cut about $5 million off the Flyers’ cap figure.
But there’s also a long list of worries that come with Rinaldo, too.
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Rinaldo, 25, the Flyers’ unchallenged leader in drawing the ire of league disciplinarians with his undisciplined play in recent years, had two years to go on a contract extension that will pay him an average salary of $850,000. Yes, Rinaldo brought a lot of passion onto the ice; but it normally punished Philadelphia more than it awarded them. For some teams, scouting is a huge black mark – that’s the case in net for the Dallas stars, on defense for the Edmonton Oilers, and among offensive-driving players for the Coyotes. But he traded a fairly early 2017 draft pick for Rinaldo. He was fined twice.
