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. A strange, core-altering offseason for Boston continued on Monday when Neely and the rest of the Bruins brass sent a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers and GM Ron Hextall in exchange for energy forward Zac Rinaldo.
Both teams announced the move.
"Rinaldo skated in 58 games with the Flyers during the 2014-15 campaign, registering one goal and five assists for six points. Rinaldo led the team in penalty minutes with 102," reads the Bruins release.
"In total, the 25-year-old has skated in 223 games at the NHL level - all with Philadelphia - notching eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points with 572 penalty minutes. The forward has led the Flyers in penalty minutes the last four seasons. Rinaldo has also skated in 14 NHL postseason games with Philadelphia, racking up 64 penalty minutes."
It was suggested via a report passed along by HNGN early Monday that the Bruins, led by Neely and new GM Don Sweeney, were still looking to gather more "proven" NHL talent via the trade route this offseason. Whether Rinaldo represents "proven" NHL talent is entirely up for debate, but one thing's for sure - he'll be drawing unnecessary penalties as a member of the Bruins in 2015-16.
Just as Neely had set a mandate to see his Bruins return to a tougher, more hard-nosed mentality this offseason, Hextall declared that he both needed to shed salary and get more talent on the backend and the wings.
On Saturday, Hextall dealt stay-at-home defenseman Nicklas Grossmann and the contract of future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger to the Arizona Coyotes, clearing out about $8.5 million in salary, though most of Pronger's $4.95 million cap hit would come off the books thanks to a long-term injury reserve designation.
Dealing Rinaldo, 25, will save Hextall only $850,000, but it moves out a player who became known mostly for agitating in the wrong manner at the wrong time and who drew more unnecessary minor penalties than was acceptable or expected for any player in recent years.
Rinaldo certainly has an NHL skillet as a fourth-line energy guy who can drop the gloves when necessary, but too often he seemed to lose focus and take ill-timed penalties with the Flyers. His underrated speed and hands mean he could potentially turn himself into a top-9 guy, but it would require corralling a penchant for frustrating decision-making that just hasn't seemed possible to this point in his NHL career.
