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

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

In other words except for doing one thing... He's useless?

hits + fights + intimidates = 3. If you want me to simplify it for ya.


Pretty good little skater too, that's 4. My math isn't so good either.

 

[FlyersFan61290]

OMG lol. Rinaldo = Forward, GUS= D... Lol

It was a joke hence the

It's a running joke on here that Gus gets scratched for other players mistakes/bs reasons.

 

[ahthorne]

I like Zac for the 4th line 'cause his game is similar to other 'agitating pests' and if he could learn to control his penalties he'd be fine. He's still a kid, too, and I bet once he's a little older that part of his game will come around. No offense whatsoever though.

Once he's back:

Hartnell - Giroux - Voracek
Schenn - Lecavalier - Simmonds
Downie - Couturier - Read
Raffl - Hall - Rinaldo

I'd be fine with this. Rinaldo brings speed and that 4th line becomes pretty quick and almost useful 5v5 thanks to Raffl. Rinaldo regressed this year and never really recovered but I think a lot of that is because his line was just pure garbage with both Rosehill and Rinaldo on it. Rosehill is clearly worse than Zac and Zac actually provides some speed and was used a little on the PK (shocker IMO).

Hope he returns soon and makes a positive impact.

 

[shipwreck]

I agree with ya, ahthorne.

 

[SgtJoseph*]

Zac brings the one thing that MANY of our skilled players do not bring consistently...............and that is HEART !

 

[sa cyred]

hits + fights + intimidates = 3. If you want me to simplify it for ya.


Pretty good little skater too, that's 4. My math isn't so good either.

So in his 5 mins of playing he really does nothing? He used to be able to draw penalties but now all he does is take them.. In 5 mins of playing. The Rinaldo obsession is just like the Dan Carcillo one. A player who barely contributes is loved.

Zac brings the one thing that MANY of our skilled players do not bring consistently...............and that is HEART !

Who doesn't bring heart? Giroux? Voracek? Read? Maybe Schenn, Simmonds or Hartnell? Which of these players look like they don't have heart, something Zac Attack I guess somehow has. I guess heart is constantly putting up team on the pk.

 

[Damaged Goods]

I like Zac for the 4th line 'cause his game is similar to other 'agitating pests' and if he could learn to control his penalties he'd be fine. He's still a kid, too, and I bet once he's a little older that part of his game will come around. No offense whatsoever though.

Once he's back:

Hartnell - Giroux - Voracek
Schenn - Lecavalier - Simmonds
Downie - Couturier - Read
Raffl - Hall - Rinaldo

I'd be fine with this. Rinaldo brings speed and that 4th line becomes pretty quick and almost useful 5v5 thanks to Raffl. Rinaldo regressed this year and never really recovered but I think a lot of that is because his line was just pure garbage with both Rosehill and Rinaldo on it. Rosehill is clearly worse than Zac and Zac actually provides some speed and was used a little on the PK (shocker IMO).

Hope he returns soon and makes a positive impact.

How long have we been saying that?

He has been effective his last 2 games back. I will give him that. Still a long way to go before he earns any level of trust, though.

 

[Harold Bingo]

It's like he remembered he's in the lineup to stir things up and make huge hits. He's been much better these past two games than he was prior to his injury.

 

[Curufinwe]

His hit in the first yesterday was great and totally clean.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

So in his 5 mins of playing he really does nothing? He used to be able to draw penalties but now all he does is take them.. In 5 mins of playing. The Rinaldo obsession is just like the Dan Carcillo one. A player who barely contributes is loved.




His 5 minutes a game land him 17 th in the league in hits in just 46 games. Just a guess but there's probably something better to debate than Rinaldo's usefulness. Unless hitting is no longer considered useful in Philly.

 

[pacehimself]

Rinaldo has really been effective since he came back from his injury. I think he is a valuable member of the team when he sticks to his role and doesn't try to do too much. It also helps when he stays out of the box for stupid penalties. It's just awesome to see him get under the skin of the opponents and get them off their game when he throws a big hit. Hopefully he can continue to play like this consistently

 

[Garbage Goal]

People tend to overrate hits a lot when it comes to the NHL. Similarly to stuff like blocked shots, in order to register a hit your team can't have possession of the puck because otherwise it would be an interference penalty and not a hit. If you register a ton of hits it makes it easier to assume that you don't have possession much.

Just more of a general comment, but it's easy to see how it relates to Rinaldo.

 

[pacehimself]

Ya...I'm just saying he gets a lot of criticism on these boards so i just wanted to give him credit when its due. He is a 4th liner...nothing more nothing less. An energy guy that does his job by making big hits and making opponents think twice about keeping their head down.

 

[GKJ]

Ya...I'm just saying he gets a lot of criticism on these boards so i just wanted to give him credit when its due. He is a 4th liner...nothing more nothing less. An energy guy that does his job by making big hits and making opponents think twice about keeping their head down.

I'm sure a lot of people would do well when their role on the team is to go out and waste time.

How long have we been saying that?

He has been effective his last 2 games back. I will give him that. Still a long way to go before he earns any level of trust, though.

I'm sure he's the reason somehow that Steve Mason returned to his unsustainably hot form.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

I'm sure a lot of people would do well when their role on the team is to go out and waste time.



I'm sure he's the reason somehow that Steve Mason returned to his unsustainably hot form.

I doubt opposing defensemen that hear footsteps would agree with you. The guy's an energy player, I don't understand why people expect more. When did being the most effective physical forward on your team become a waste of time? He's been knocking a guy out every two games with clean hits lately. Betcha Smid's going to pay more attention when he's out there in the future.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Ya...I'm just saying he gets a lot of criticism on these boards so i just wanted to give him credit when its due. He is a 4th liner...nothing more nothing less. An energy guy that does his job by making big hits and making opponents think twice about keeping their head down.

Sorry, I pretty much copied your post.

 

[pacehimself]

Lol its cool bob Clarke fan club...i am happy with him on the 4th line making other teams play on their toes. You can see it lately with players forcing passes when he is around them...he causes turnovers...now what he does with the turnovers thats a different story lol. All in all im happy that he seems to be playing better as of late

 

[GKJ]

I doubt opposing defensemen that hear footsteps would agree with you. The guy's an energy player, I don't understand why people expect more. When did being the most effective physical forward on your team become a waste of time? He's been knocking a guy out every two games with clean hits lately. Betcha Smid's going to pay more attention when he's out there in the future.

Betcha Smid doesn't care.

Because hitting a guy and GTFO the ice isn't effective play. Only Raffl and Hall (who are more trusted in tougher situations) had worse attempt numbers than Rinaldo. He hit Smid. Good for him. He was also out-played by significant margin by a team who outplayed the Flyers a little less significantly.


Here's a list of attempts after the momentum-changing, energizing hit on Smid (15:18 of the 2nd):

2 15:49 CGY Shot Slap 64 ft. Wideman EV 5v5
2 16:16 CGY Miss Wrist 12 ft. Stempniak EV 5v5
2 16:35 CGY Shot Wrist 42 ft. Hudler EV 5v5
2 16:41 CGY Block Snap Giordano (blocked by Timonen) EV 5v5
2 16:47 CGY Block Slap Brodie (blocked by Lecavalier) EV 5v5
2 18:03 CGY Shot Wrist 18 ft. Backlund EV 5v5
2 18:04 CGY Block Wrist Bouma (blocked by Streit) EV 5v5
2 19:01 PHI Block Wrist Giroux (blocked by Giordano) EV 4v4
2 19:23 CGY Shot Snap 38 ft. Backlund EV 4v4
2 19:31 CGY Block Wrist Backlund (blocked by Streit) EV 4v4
2 19:59 PHI Shot Back 80 ft. Coburn EV 4v4

A lot of CGY's and a PHI shot from 80 feet at the end of the period. I'm sure Smid will take more hits if it makes the opposing coach think a guy who doesn't belong on the ice actually gets things accomplished.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Betcha Smid doesn't care.

Because hitting a guy and GTFO the ice isn't effective play. Only Raffl and Hall (who are more trusted in tougher situations) had worse attempt numbers than Rinaldo. He hit Smid. Good for him. He was also out-played by significant margin by a team who outplayed the Flyers a little less significantly.







If you say so, but speaking solely as a non-professional player who's been rocked with his head down....I disagree. Players don't enjoy getting hit hard, just figured I'd let you in on the obvious. I don't even know what those shot totals have to do with Smid getting popped.

 

[GKJ]

If you say so, but speaking solely as a non-professional player who's been rocked with his head down....I disagree. Players don't enjoy getting hit hard, just figured I'd let you in on the obvious. I don't even know what those shot totals have to do with Smid getting popped.

Because Smid getting popped meant nothing. You can't make nothing mean something.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Because Smid getting popped meant nothing. You can't make nothing mean something.

but you can put a negative spin on it, K.

 

[GKJ]

but you can put a negative spin on it, K.

No, you think it's negative because you disagree. I just said that it still meant nothing. The Flyers were getting out-attempted before the play, and it didn't change after it. A thing happened that had no impact whatsoever on the game. In effect: nothing.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Because Smid getting popped meant nothing. You can't make nothing mean something.

Maybe if we finish 2 points ahead of Columbus for the last playoff spot his hit on Gaborik won't mean anything either.

 

[GKJ]

Maybe if we finish 2 points ahead of Columbus for the last playoff spot his hit on Gaborik won't mean anything either.

Either that one, or the 5-0 shutout of Detroit where neither he nor Rosehill played and actually got to ice a full roster of NHL players.

 

[Beef Invictus]

And Gaborik was going to get hurt anyways. It's not like it's a rare thing to knock him out for a large chunk of time.