Zac Rinaldo suspended for eight games

Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo was handed the longest suspension of Stephane Quintal's tenure when he was ordered Monday to sit out eight games.

Rinaldo had checked Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang from behind on Tuesday. Letang hit his head and missed the rest of that game, plus Wednesday's game. He returned to practice on Monday and could return to the lineup this week.

Rinaldo won't be able to return until Feb. 17. He had left his feet right before making contact with Letang. The suspension was for boarding and charging.

He had been offered an in-person hearing, indicating a suspension of six games or more, but chose to do it over the phone instead. The usual NHL suspension video couldn't be made because of the snowstorm in New York but will be out in the next day or two.

The Flyer is a repeat offender, getting four games in April for an illegal hit to the head and two games in 2012 for charging. He also was fined $5,000 for separate incidents in a February 2012 game.

He'll forfeit $73,170.72 in pay.

Quintal, who took over the player safety department at the end of the 2013-14 regular season, previously had handed out a seven-game suspension to Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke for kneeing.

Last week, Quintal suspended Chicago's Daniel Carcillo six games for cross-checking Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault.