The American Hockey League has suspended Providence Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo five games for an illegal check to the head in a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday.
The hit came in his first AHL game of the season, against Tigers defenseman Kane Lafranchise.
Rinaldo had recently been waived by the Boston Bruins and assigned to the AHL. His return to the NHL is a tricky situation, as he’s also suspended in the NHL. He was handed a five-game suspension for a hit on Tampa’s Cedric Paquette.
He has not served any of the NHL suspension yet and would have to be recalled in order to start serving it.
Rinaldo has played 52 games with Boston this season, scoring a goal and two assists. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in June for a 3rd round draft pick in the 2017 draft and has one more year remaining on a contract that pays him $850,000.
Watch the play that gave Rinaldo an active suspension in two different leagues below.
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Dustin Nelson is the News Editor for The Hockey Writers. He’s a contributor to Hockey Prospectus, Hockey Wilderness, and writes a column for Rotowire. He’s also written for Gone Puck Wild, Wild Xtra, InDigest, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Tiny Mix Tapes, Prefix Magazine & other publications. Have a tip? Email him at dlukenelson[at]gmail[dot]com.
