elvis15 Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Rinaldo to have phone hearing for Ruhwedel hit Flyers tough forward Zac Rinaldo will have to answer to the NHL for his hit on Sabres defenseman Chad Ruhwedel. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Rinaldo will have a hearing on Monday with Rinaldo for an illegal check to the head. It will be a phone hearing and that means the most he can be sat down for is five games. With the regular season winding down and playoffs on the horizon for the Flyers, a long enough suspension could eat into the postseason. Rinaldo was assessed a match penalty for his high hit on the rookie Sabres defenseman and has a history. He was fined $5,000 on Feb. 4, 2012 for two separate incidents and then received a two-game suspension for charging nine days later. None of that will be considered by the league in his suspension, however, since it was over two years ago at this point. Video at the link, since it's not a Youtube video, but a pretty clear example of a player not hitting squarely through the body and contacting the head, with a little bit of charging potentially thrown in as his skates are leaving the ice right around the time of the hit. Rinaldo gets a luck break with not having had a suspension more recently, otherwise this could have been an in person hearing. EDIT: found a Youtube video: EDIT 2: As noted by Apple Juice, Rinaldo gets 4 games: Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie Four games for PHI's Zac Rinaldo. NHL Player Safety @NHLPlayerSafety Flyers' Zac Rinaldo suspended for an illegal check to the head of Sabres' Chad Ruhwedel. Video: http://s.nhl.com/vxcOt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langdon Algur Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Rinaldo is a dirty player and deserves at least 5 games for this. I hated his post game "apology" when he said there was not need for this hit because they were up 4-0. So in a close game hits to the head are ok with you Rinaldo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Yowzers. What was he thinking?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Rinaldo is a dirty player and deserves at least 5 games for this. I hated his post game "apology" when he said there was not need for this hit because they were up 4-0. So in a close game hits to the head are ok with you Rinaldo? It didn't sound like he was talking about head shots. It sounds like he was just saying he shouldn't have taken a reckless risk when the game was basically already won. Rinaldo's only in the Flyers line up to draw penalties and he does so mainly by looking for big hits. "I had a lot of speed going at him. I put my shoulder down, and as he shot the puck my shoulder hit him clearly," Rinaldo said. "Proof is in the pudding right there. I shouldn't have done it. There's no need for it. We're up 4-0, but it's part of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 A suspension that's 5 games or less isn't going to teach him anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 If it wasn't a phone hearing, it would've been minimum 10 games. Love how clear headshots like this gets penalized yet Kassian's accidental swing to 8 and Niederreiter got zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Bob McKenzieVerified account@TSNBobMcKenzieFour games for PHI's Zac Rinaldo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justdean10 Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I don't get how this only gets four games. I don't know much about this player but it said he had a history. It looks like a brutal and pointless hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 If it wasn't a phone hearing, it would've been minimum 10 games. Love how clear headshots like this gets penalized yet Kassian's accidental swing to 8 and Niederreiter got zero. I'm in the same boat as you. League and it's suspensions crew is a complete joke. It's not even justifiable how inconsistent it is, like holy crap. Utter bs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I don't get how this only gets four games. I don't know much about this player but it said he had a history. It looks like a brutal and pointless hit. 4 games is the remainder of the NHL season. If they had more games he may have gotten more but the NHL puts the value of playoff games at a much higher mark and they don't tend to hand those out as frequently. Rinaldo's history was not relevant. While he has a reputation as a vicious player he has only warranted 1 fine and 1 suspension in his career but because both occurred over 2 years ago they were not factored into this hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 If it wasn't a phone hearing, it would've been minimum 10 games. Love how clear headshots like this gets penalized yet Kassian's accidental swing to 8 and Niederreiter got zero. If it should have been 10 games then he wouldn't have gotten a phone hearing. The NHL has basically admitted at that point they don't think it's worth more than 5. I'd like to see more for plays like this that are obviously bad decisions on hits - in other words not a good hockey play gone wrong - but unless the NHL decides to take a sterner stance it's not going to really change. As you probably already know, I agree with their decision on Nieds based on the current rules, but I disagree with how much Kassian was suspended and in particular with how much they factor injury into suspensions rather than the seriousness of the play itself. I don't get how this only gets four games. I don't know much about this player but it said he had a history. It looks like a brutal and pointless hit. Well, the history he did have was over 2 years ago, so it doesn't factor into repeat offender status. The only rule around adding time to suspensions for history is in regards to repeat offender status so it didn't apply for Rinaldo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowtownCanuck Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Another head scratcher from the NHL wheel of justice. I've said for a while hits like this are dangerous and should be suspended. But what makes it different from any other hit that was questioable this week. (Can't watch videos at work to see the department of "player safey" excuses) Tonight some guy will try to take off another guy's head and there will be no call. Tomorrow maybe it's a 2 minute penalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 NHL Player Safety @NHLPlayerSafety Flyers' Zac Rinaldo suspended for an illegal check to the head of Sabres' Chad Ruhwedel. Video: http://s.nhl.com/vxcOt Another head scratcher from the NHL wheel of justice. I've said for a while hits like this are dangerous and should be suspended. But what makes it different from any other hit that was questioable this week. (Can't watch videos at work to see the department of "player safey" excuses) Tonight some guy will try to take off another guy's head and there will be no call. Tomorrow maybe it's a 2 minute penalty. Trust me, it's worse than the average or common NHL hit. Pretty much targets the head and is leaving his feet when making the hit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 For the guys complaining that it should be 10 games. 4 players have had suspensions 10 games long or more this season. 2 of them were for leaving the bench during an altercation (Clarkson & Bissonnette). Shawn Thornton who got 15 for his Brooks Orpik sucker punch. And Patrick Kaleta who got 10 games for an illegal check to the head but was stated that it was extended because he had multiple repeat offenses factored in. All the other hit to the head suspensions this year resulted in 2-5 games. Edit: My apologies. Most of the suspensions were 2-5 games but John Scott did get 7 games for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowtownCanuck Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Trust me, it's worse than the average or common NHL hit. Pretty much targets the head and is leaving his feet when making the hit as well. Definitely not an average hit, but 5-10 games happen every night, one marginal hit per night. The biggest difference I see in the replays is the awkward position the player is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 Definitely not an average hit, but 5-10 games happen every night, one marginal hit per night. The biggest difference I see in the replays is the awkward position the player is in. That's highly debatable. Marginal I'd agree with, but hits worth 5-10 games? I don't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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