After Rinaldo’s great play in the preseason finale and the possibility of him having some hockey players as linemates rather than face-punchers, I decided to look at how Rinaldo performed with different linemates last year.

Intros are like shootouts; lets get to the charts.

CF% With Different Linemates:

CF% = Corsi For Percentage

It seems as if either Rinaldo is carried by his superiors, or he plays down to the face punchers. With regular "skill" players such as Lecavalier, Couturier, Read and Raffl, Rinaldo performs much better than with Vandevelde or Rosehill. It is tough to judge Hall’s impact on Rinaldo, as he is with him across the board and played more than half his total minutes with him.

CF% and ZS%:

CF% = Corsi For Percentage

ZS% = Offensive Zone Start Percentage

Even with low offensive zone starts, Rinaldo performed well with a "skilled" Vinny and Hall, as well as with Downie, Hall, Couturier and Talbot. Rinaldo played well this preseason with skilled players, highlighted with an assist on Akeson’s goal last night. Rinaldo was a pet project of Ian Laperriere last season with some penalty kill time, and seems to be willing to learn.

CF% Breakdown:

When breaking down Rinaldo’s linemates into two categories, "Skill" Players and "Others", the result is quite interesting. When Rinaldo is on the ice away from Vandevelde and Rosehill, both of whom should be seeing very little ice time this season, his line has posted a positive corsi rate. It'll be interesting to see how Rinaldo performs early this year.

Conclusion:

There is no doubt that Rinaldo has heart, but could he actually be turned into a productive hockey player? With just 18 points in 165 career games it seems unlikely, but if there is ever a time to do it, its now. If the Flyers coaching staff can wise up and play a more skilled 4th line, Rinaldo could thrive as the role of energy guy and cycle with the rest of the 4th line.

P.S. Sorry for not adding a "funny" poll option (Heart, 5+ hits, etc.). I actually want to see the yes/no breakdown on this one.