Rinaldo mustered five points in 19 appearances with the Flames in 2019-20, as well as 34 PIM and 69 hits. It was an unusually strong run for the 30-year-old enforcer, who has never pocketed more than nine points in a single season. He's split most of his time over the last five years between the NHL and AHL level in multiple organizations. Outside of appeal as a physical player in extremely deep fantasy formats, most managers won't have any need for Rinaldo's skillset on their virtual squads.
Rinaldo hit the open market after 53-game run in Arizona and ultimately found a new home in Nashville; the gritty pivot signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Predators. When a veteran has to settle on a two-way deal, fantasy owners should be wary of drafting said player. After all, it's no guarantee that Rinaldo will even play enough at the highest level to warrant a look. The 28-year-old has a whopping 699 PIM over 328 career games, but his offensive totals aren't even worth mentioning.
The scrappy 25-year-old forward tallied one goal and six points to go along with 109 penalty minutes in 58 games for Philadelphia this past season before being dealt to Boston in June. He’ll add depth and grit to the Bruins’ forward mix, but he's presumably ticketed for a fourth-line/agitator role, which will limit his fantasy utility to PIM-heavy formats.
Rinaldo's ability to aggrevate and disrupt his opponent's game puts him among the league's best pests. The real question is whether he has the ability to control and hone his game to provide a net benefit to his team. In only 67 games last year, he recorded a whopping 153 PIM while only contributing two goals and two assists. To make matters worse, he was a -13, and ended up splitting time with Jay Rosehill. Fantasy GMs who want a one-trick pony would be well advised to grab Rinaldo to shore up the PIM category, but more well-rounded penalty minute contributors can be had in even the last round of any draft.
Rinaldo is a thumper who spent 85 minutes in the penalty box last season, despite missing time with an ankle sprain. In April, the Flyers extended his contract for two years, so it looks like the 23-year-old will be pounding Flyers' opponents once again this season. He doesn't collect a lot of points, so look for him in later rounds if your league values penalty minutes.
Rinaldo was given a 66-game shot at the big leagues last year and, while it only yielded nine points, the gritty enforcer managed 232 PIMs, good enough for second in the league. The Flyers are a young, skilled team, and Rinaldo has plenty of teammates to protect if need be. Expect Rinaldo to frequent the sin bin again this season with the occasional bad penalty to go with the fights. He's definitely worth a look in deep leagues that reward penalty minutes especially for spot starts against Pittsburgh and the Rangers.
Rinaldo appeared in a pair of playoff games last season and has remained in Philadelphia this summer to try and impress the Flyers' front office. He'll get a shot to make the team out of camp, but could be destined to be up and down the professional ranks this season.
