Judging from the reaction out there in Twitter and other sites, I don't think there are many Flyer fans or hockey fans, in general, who feel Zac Rinaldo was tagged with something he didn't deserve.
A 4-game suspension for a deliberate head shot against Chad Ruhwedel. Those four games carry through the remainder of the regular season.
Had there been six games left, I think Rinaldo would have gotten a six-pack suspension from the NHL's Department of PLayer Safety.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren called it a "harsh" penalty. I don't think Homer believes that is the case. He has to defend his player.
Rinaldo's conduct the entire game was questionable. Don't think that didn't factor into the suspension. I expected this result.
Rinaldo has qualities about him that every hockey fan loves. His enthusiasm and innate ability to deliver a hit that turns a shift, a play, or a game around is undeniable.
Yet when he gets out of control like a cage animal turned loose, the results are predictable: penalties. That he hasn't been suspended more often is amazing to many NHL observers who feel he is a loose canon on the ice.
What bothers me most is that Rinaldo still doesn't see or won't admit, that what he did was wrong. He said it was shared blame on him and Ruhwedel. No, it's clearly on him.
And until he understands that what he did was wrong, there is NO way the Flyers can move on. If a player feels he did not wrong, he will continue to act in the same manner on the ice as before.
And that's where Holmgren comes in. It's his responsibility to point out that the hit was bad, it can't happen again, and the fault lies within and no where else.
That the Flyers don't see this as a problem is not only troubling but reinforces to the league office that the club doesn't "get it."
Which means, every Flyer, not just Rinaldo, remains a "target" on the NHL's hit list for supplementary discipline.
Just once I'd like to hear the Flyers admit they were wrong and the punishment was appropriate.
So would Gary Bettman.
*
Here's more on the Flyers at CSNPhilly.com:
click here 
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»