The Nashville Predators announced that center Zac Rinaldo will miss the rest of the season as he is going to have season-ending shoulder surgery.
#Preds GM David Poile announces Zac Rinaldo will have season-ending shoulder surgery.
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) February 6, 2019
Zac Rinaldo to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Rinaldo has not played since New Year’s day and was placed on IR on January 18th. There was no play this season that looked to have been serious for Rinaldo.
This season, Rinaldo had a goal and two assists for three points to go along with 20 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 43.5 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -8.6 percent.
Over his 7-year NHL career, Rinaldo has played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, and Nashville Predators. He has 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 career points in 351 career games. He was originally drafted by the Flyers in the sixth round, 178th overall in the 2008 NHL draft.
What This Means for the Future
The news of Rinaldo’s injury may have played a part in Nashville’s two trades they made earlier today. Zac Rinaldo who has only seen action in 24 games is used a bigger body in the line-up. The Predators did go out and re-acquire Cody McLeod this morning from the New York Rangers for a late round pick.
McLeod had played 68 games with the Predators being waived and claimed by the Rangers last season. McLeod plays a similar game to Rinaldo and is used for his physicality than his offensive game as he has only one goal in 32 games this season. Expect McLeod to be a guy who is rotating in and out of the lineup for the rest of the season. Rinaldo was a healthy scratch for most of the season so this injury shouldn’t affect Nashville down the stretch.
Both Rinaldo and McLeod are set to become UFA’s at the end of the season.
Main Photo:
