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Bruins send 2017 3rd-round pick to Flyers for Zac Rinaldo
"I think we lost our team identity this year. We weren't as tough a team to play against as we'd like to be, and as we were in year's past.”
Those were the words of Boston Bruins president Cam Neely at the end of the regular season; one in which he watched his team fail to qualify for the playoffs on the final day.
Well, if Neely was looking to get back to the Big Bad Bruins days, acquiring Zac Rinaldo will help you get there.
On Monday, GM Don Sweeney kept making moves by trading a 2017 3rd-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for 25-year old Rinaldo.
Here’s what the Bruins will get in Rinaldo, from Travis Hughes of Broadstreet Hockey, a Flyers blog:
Rinaldo was a fan favorite in Philly for a lot of reasons, but the reality is that he's a below-replacement level player who has done nothing to prove that he deserves a regular job with an NHL team. He brings fire and energy and physicality to a game, but he takes too many penalties and suspensions to effectively help his team on a consistent basis. He was a major reason why the Flyers were destined to have an ineffective fourth-line the last few years, in all honesty.
Boy, what do you think Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara are thinking after the last several days?
On the other side of the deal, it’s been quite an impressive few days for Flyers GM Ron Hextall. After having a good draft that featured taking defenseman Ivan Provorov at No. 7 and clearing out the Chris Pronger contract and Nicklas Grossman and the $3 million owed to him this coming season, he picks up a third rounder for a guy who averaged 8:55 of ice this past season and is a suspension risk every time he’s out there.
That’s a successful way to start your off-season.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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