Blue Jackets' Zac Rinaldo Will Be Paid AHL Salary, Won't Play Due to Vaccine Status

The Columbus Blue Jackets have effectively parted ways with center Zac Rinaldo after he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Per Chris Bumbaca of USA Today, the Blue Jackets signed Rinaldo to a two-year deal last offseason.

Because of Rinaldo's vaccine refusal, the Blue Jackets did not invite him to take part in the team's training camp. He will not take part in practices for the AHL affiliate Cleveland Monsters when they start Tuesday.

Columbus will still pay Rinaldo his full AHL-level salary of $300,000. The Blue Jackets also placed Rinaldo on waivers, which he cleared Friday.

General manager Jarmo Kekalainen released a statement regarding the situation:

"“Our position has been very clear that our organization is committed to doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff and fans. Given the impact COVID-19 continues to have in our communities, we believe the best course of action given Zac’s vaccination status is to not have him report to Cleveland at this time."

"While we respect an individual’s right to make a personal choice with regards to being vaccinated or not, we have a responsibility to do what we believe is best for our organization."

As TSN noted, the Blue Jackets parted ways with assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre after he refused to be vaccinated. Columbus hired Lefebvre this offseason.

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, the NHL and NHL Players' Association do not mandate that players receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but protocols in place encourage that they get it.

The 31-year-old Rinaldo has 18 goals and 24 assists in 374 games over 10 NHL seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames. He played four games with Calgary last season.