Call me crazy, but I thought he had a good camp/preseason.
It wasn't the loss against Colorado that prompted this. Flames have been getting pushed around for I don't know how many seasons now. The Flames were always a notable 'tough team' to play against, but they have been soft as butter. A guy like Rinaldo HELPS to bridge that gap. Nobody is going to be scared of Rinaldo, but at least he plays with an edge and in those games where it gets physical, at least the Flames have another player that can play that game as well.
Either way, nothing to get too excited over. He will start in Stockton, and probably won't be recalled unless there are a string of injuries (he is definitely not first on the recall list). I think he gets recalled when the Flames play a stretch of games against bigger teams like Anaheim, St. Louis, etc. Again, he isn't a deterrent at all (if your team doesn't have a guy that can put the fear of God into Rinaldo, then I don't know what to say). He is simply a physical player with great wheels and is hard on the forecheck. That's all the Flames need of him whenever he gets recalled the handful of times this season. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid in his time up here - you won't catch me saying I like having him in the organization given his history. He just fit what the Flames were looking for - physical, fast and not totally terrible at the game of hockey to be used sparingly when warranted.