Nashville Predators: Evaluating Zac Rinaldo’s future

Zac Rinaldo’s 2018-19 season was cut short due to an injury, but he played 20 solid games for the Nashville Predators.

While most big-name free agents have been signed this offseason, there are plenty of players that are still without a team  One of the players still on the free-agent market is former Nashville Predators tough guy and enforcer Zac Rinaldo.

Although Rinaldo is known for his physicality and his ability to fight, he is a decent penalty killer and fourth-line grinder. In 351 NHL games played, he has 15 goals, 22 assists, and 719 penalty minutes.

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Arguably one of the top 10 enforcers in the past decade, Rinaldo is the quintessential modern-day enforcer. At 5’11” and 185 pounds, the 29-year-old forward is not the most imposing player, but he can smack talk, check, and fight like the best of them.

The Hamilton native has played with the Philadelphia Flyers (four seasons), Boston Bruins (one season), Arizona Coyotes (one season) and Predators (one season) in his seven seasons in the NHL.

With his most recent team, the Predators, Rinaldo played 20 games, scored one goal, tallied two assists, and clocked 20 penalty minutes.

Unfortunately, Rinaldo’s 2018-19 season was cut short due to a shoulder injury (which required surgery). As teams look at the potential of signing Rinaldo, it is understandable if they are hesitant that his physical game will be toned down because of the shoulder injury.  However, he felt 100% and was ready to play for the Predators if they needed him in the playoffs last season.

With the number of enforcers in the NHL diminishing, players like Zac Rinaldo are hard to come by. While he may not be the most offensively gifted player, Rinaldo brings a high level of physicality and security that teams look for.

As the offseason presses on, the free-agent signings will start picking up closer to training camp. Hopefully, by then Rinaldo will be on a team and showcase his talent and upside. While it is unlikely that he will be on an NHL roster at the start of the season, he is certainly a veteran player that can fill vacant roles when a team needs him.