After clearing waivers on Friday afternoon, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced that forward Zac Rinaldo will not be assigned to their American Hockey League-affiliate Cleveland Monsters.

Rinaldo, 31, is currently under a one-year, two-way deal with the team. He was not permitted to join the club's training camp because the Hamilton, Ont. native has not been vaccinated.

"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,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement.  “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.  We will honor Zac’s contract, but if he wants to pursue any other opportunities to play this season we will allow him to do so."

Last month, the team dismissed newly hired assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre for remaining unvaccinated.

Rinaldo has appeared in 374 NHL games over nine seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames.

In four games with the Flames last season, Rinaldo registered five minutes in penalties.

The Blue Jackets open their regular season on Oct. 14 at home to the Coyotes.