Pekka Rinne

Pekka Rinne
Born (1982-11-03) 3 November 1982
Kempele, Finland
Height 196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 98 kg (216 lb; 15 st 6 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Nashville Predators
Milwaukee Admirals
Oulun Kärpät
HC Dinamo Minsk
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 258th overall, 2004
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2001–present

Pekka Rinne (pronounced [ˈrinːe]; born 3 November 1982) is a Finnish professional hockey goaltender currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Oulun Kärpät

Rinne was developed in Kärpät playing predominantly for their junior team between 2000 and 2003 and, after that, for their men's team in championship-winning years 2004 and 2005, mostly as a backup to Niklas Bäckström.

Nashville Predators

Rinne with the Nashville Predators in December 2005. He played his first two NHL games during the 2005–06 season.

Rinne was drafted 258th overall in the eighth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. He was signed by the Predators on 23 August 2005, and began his North American playing career with the Predators' top minor league affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). Initially, Rinne was slated to be the backup for Brian Finley, but Rinne became the starter as a consequence of Finley's poor play. In the summer of 2006, Rinne was "roughed up by a couple of unknown assailants"[1] and during the fight, he dislocated his shoulder. As a result, he had to have surgery and missed the first four months of the season.

Rinne appeared in two NHL games with Nashville during the 2005–06 season. He compiled a record of 1–1–0 with a .900 save percentage and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.80.

Following Dan Ellis's stellar performance for Nashville in the 2007–08 campaign, starter Chris Mason was traded to the St. Louis Blues and Rinne was called up to serve as backup to Ellis for the subsequent 2008–09 season.

Rinne with the Predators during the 2007–08 season. He served as the team's back-up goaltender in the latter half of that season.

On 1 December 2008, Rinne became only the second Predators rookie goaltender ever to record a shutout. In February 2009, Rinne recorded nine wins in 12 games and had a 0.944 save percentage and a 1.72 GAA. He was selected as the NHL Rookie of the Month for his performances.[2] On 14 March, Rinne set a Predators franchise record with his seventh shutout of the season.[3] Rinne was one of two goaltenders to play for Finland in the 2009 IIHF World Championship of hockey, the other being Karri Rämö. Rinne started the tournament with a shutout in his first game for the Finns, saving 30 shots.

In the 2010–11 season opener, Rinne allowed a goal before colliding with Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Bodie and suffering a lower-body injury on the play. Anders Lindbäck relieved him and went on to start three games before Rinne returned, only to go down to injury again in December. Upon returning on 23 December, Rinne remained healthy and put up some of the best numbers of his career, including a 1.71 GAA and .946 save percentage in the month of January. At the conclusion of the season came many accolades – Rinne was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, conferred to the NHL's top goaltender as judged by the League's general managers. He also finished fourth in Hart Memorial Trophy voting, as the League's most valuable player, and was named an NHL Second Team All-Star. Rinne led the Predators to their first ever Stanley Cup playoff series win in franchise history in 2011, prevailing over the Anaheim Ducks via a 4–2 series win.

In 2010–11 Rinne was second in Vezina Trophy voting and fourth in Hart Memorial Trophy voting.[4]

Rinne in 2011 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals.

After shutting out the Ducks on 29 October 2011, Rinne set the mark for the Predators franchise record for shutouts, with 22. On 3 November 2011, Rinne signed a seven-year deal worth $49 million, the largest contract in Nashville Predators team history (since surpassed by teammate Shea Weber and his 13-year, $114 million contract).

During the 2011–12 season, Rinne set a franchise record with 11 consecutive wins, passing Tomáš Vokoun's previous mark of eight. Rinne had another excellent year in 2011–12, leading the NHL in wins, shots against, saves, and games played. On 25 April 2012, Rinne was again named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the second consecutive year. He also helped the Predators get past the Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 playoffs to win the series 4–1. Rinne and the Predators, however, were unable to advance any further, falling to the Phoenix Coyotes in five games in the next round.

On 25 September 2012, Rinne joined Belarusian club Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) due to the impending 2012–13 NHL lockout. However, he left Dinamo in December and returned to the Predators at the end of the lockout in January 2013 to begin the truncated, 48-game 2012–13 season.

In May 2013, Rinne had a hip arthroscopy. The hip then became infected on 24 October 2013, leaving Rinne off the ice and undergoing rigorous rehabilitation for the remainder of 2013.[5] He returned to action 5 March 2014, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing three goals in a 3–1 loss.

Rinne was a nominee for the 2015 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy which eventually went to veteran player Jaromír Jágr. Rinne was also a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2015, marking his third career nomination for the award. Rinne lost the 2015 Vezina Trophy to Carey Price.[6]

On 14 March 2015, Rinne became the fastest goaltender, in terms of games played, to record 30 wins in 39 games since the NHL adopted the shootout and just the third goaltender in the NHL's expansion era to record 30 wins in 39 games or less.[7]

On 16 March 2017 Rinne became the 67th goalie to play at least 500 NHL games.[8]

On 24 November 2017, the Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues 2–0; the shutout was the 45th of Rinne's career, making him the NHL's all-time leader among goaltenders born in Finland.[9] On 22 February 2018, Rinne became the 34th goalie to record 300 career wins in a 7–1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.[10] When he recorded his 300th win he had the third highest win percentage of all the goalies who had 300 wins at 54.34%; only Martin Brodeur and Marc-André Fleury had higher. On 17 April, Rinne was named a Vezina Trophy finalist as the leagues top goaltender,[11] which he was awarded with on 20 June.[12]

International play


Rinne with the Finnish national hockey team during the 2015 IIHF World Championship
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Championships
2014 Belarus

In May 2014, Rinne was named to the All-Star Team and selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 IIHF World Championship as Finland claimed the silver medals.[13] Rinne also participated in the 2015 IIHF World Championship the following year and was named the tournament's best goaltender, setting a new IIHF record for minutes played without allowing a goal.

In March 2016, Rinne was named to Finland's 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster.[14] Rinne played in one out of three tournament games and in two out of three pre-tournament games.[15]

Playing style

Rinne utilizes the popular butterfly style of goaltending, dropping to his knees early and using his leg pads to block low shot attempts. At 6' 5" (1.96m), Rinne is currently the fifth-tallest goaltender in the NHL,[16] which gives him tremendous reach with his stick and leg pads. For a tall goaltender, he utilizes great footwork, has a great glove hand, but plays with a smaller stick than most goaltenders.[17]

Personal life

Rinne was engaged to The Voice of Finland contestant, Kirsi Lehtosaari, in April 2013.[18] Lehtosaari reported in engagement announcements that living in a music city like Nashville helped her aspiration to become a pop star. She planned to continue her music interests in Nashville until the end of Rinne's NHL career.[19] Rinne, likewise, planned to return to Finland after his retirement.[20] The engagement, however, was called off around July 2015.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2002–03 Kärpät SM-l 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00 .893 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Kärpät SM-l 14 5 4 4 824 41 0 2.99 .897 2 1 0 22 0 0 0.00 1.000
2003–04 Hokki Mestis 8 — — — — — — 2.07 .942 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Kärpät SM-l 10 8 0 1 572 16 0 1.68 .927 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 51 30 18 2 2960 139 2 2.82 .904 14 10 4 734 35 3 2.86 .905
2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 2 1 1 0 63 4 0 3.80 .900 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 29 15 7 6 1670 65 3 2.34 .920 4 0 4 247 12 0 2.91 .895
2007–08 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 65 36 24 3 3840 158 5 2.47 .908 6 2 4 358 15 1 2.51 .923
2007–08 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 29 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Nashville Predators NHL 52 29 15 4 2999 119 7 2.38 .917 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Nashville Predators NHL 58 32 16 5 3246 137 7 2.53 .911 6 2 4 358 16 0 2.68 .911
2010–11 Nashville Predators NHL 64 33 22 9 3789 134 6 2.12 .930 12 6 6 748 32 0 2.57 .907
2011–12 Nashville Predators NHL 73 43 18 8 4169 166 5 2.39 .923 10 5 5 609 21 1 2.07 .929
2012–13 HC Dinamo Minsk KHL 22 9 11 2 1327 68 1 3.08 .897 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Nashville Predators NHL 43 15 16 8 2444 99 5 2.43 .910 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Nashville Predators NHL 24 10 10 3 1367 63 2 2.77 .902 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 2 2 0 0 121 2 0 0.99 .943 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Nashville Predators NHL 64 41 17 6 3851 140 4 2.18 .923 6 2 4 425 19 0 2.68 .909
2015–16 Nashville Predators NHL 66 34 21 9 3871 161 4 2.48 .908 14 7 7 866 37 0 2.63 .906
2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 61 31 19 9 3568 144 3 2.42 .918 22 14 8 1289 42 2 1.96 .930
2017–18 Nashville Predators NHL 59 42 13 4 3475 134 8 2.31 .927 13 7 6 685 35 2 3.07 .904
NHL totals 567 311 168 66 32,896 1301 51 2.37 .919 83 43 40 4,980 203 5 2.45 .915

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2009 Finland WC 5th 6 4 2 0 373 12 1 1.93 .926
2010 Finland WC 6th 4 2 2 0 249 7 1 1.68 .929
2014 Finland WC 2nd, silver medalist(s) 9 5 3 0 543 17 3 1.88 .928
2015 Finland WC 6th 7 3 2 0 427 12 3 1.69 .927
2016 Finland WCH 8th 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00 .907
Senior totals 27 14 10 0 1652 52 8 1.88 .926

Awards

NHL

Award Year(s) awarded
First All-Star Team 2018
Second All-Star Team 2011
Vezina Trophy 2018
Vezina Trophy finalist 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018
NHL All-Star Game 2015 (injured), 2016, 2018
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Nashville Predators) 2017
Rookie of the Month, February 2009
The Hockey News, Patrick Roy Award (Best Goalie) 2013

International

Award Year(s) awarded
Oddset Hockey Games Winner 1st, gold medalist(s) 2014
World Championship All-Star Team 2014
World Championship Most Valuable Player 2014
World Championship Best Goaltender 2015
Finnish Player of the Year 2017

SM-Liiga

Award Year(s) awarded
1st, gold medalist(s) Kanada-malja (Finnish ice hockey championship) 2004, 2005
2nd, silver medalist(s) Runners-up 2003

References

  1. ↑ "Assault steeled Nashville Predator's Pekka Rinne for NHL success".
  2. ↑ "Predators' Rinne named NHL Rookie of the Month". NHL.com. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  3. ↑ "Rinne sets shutout record as Predators win in Phoenix". The City Paper. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Pekka Rinne Bio". NHL.com.
  5. ↑ Cooper, Josh (2014-01-10). "Predators' Pekka Rinne can begin weight-bearing exercises". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  6. ↑ "Pekka Rinne Named a Vezina Trophy Finalist". Nashville Predators. 24 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Pekka Rinne Named a Vezina Trophy Finalist". Nashville Predators. 24 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Vingan, Adam (16 March 2017). "Predators beat NHL-leading Capitals for second OT win in a row". The Tennessean. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. ↑ @PR_NHL (24 November 2017). "Pekka Rinne of the @PredsNHL recorded his 45th career shutout to pass Miikka Kiprusoff (44) for the most in NHL history by a Finnish-born goaltender. #NHLStats #NSHvsSTL" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Bratten, Brooks (22 February 2018). "Rinne Records 300th Win as Preds Score Seven to Sink Sharks". NHL.com. Nashville Predators. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Vezina Trophy finalists unveiled". NHL.com. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Nashville's Pekka Rinne wins Vezina Trophy as NHL's best goaltender". Sportsnet.ca. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Rinne MVP". IIHF. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Rask, Rinne to lead Finland at World Cup". National Hockey League. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  15. ↑ "Pekka Rinne player profile". World Cup of Hockey. 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  16. ↑ Ben Bishop at 6' 7" (2.01m) of the Dallas Stars is currently the tallest NHL goaltender, Scott Darling at 6' 6" (1.98m) of the Carolina Hurricanes, Devan Dubnyk at 6' 6" (1.98m) of the Minnesota Wild, and Jared Coreau at 6' 6" (1.98m) of the Detroit Red Wings are also taller; Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes also stands at 6' 5" (1.96m).
  17. ↑ Samboke (2017-08-07), Top 10 Goalies Right Now, retrieved 2017-08-13
  18. ↑ "Pekka Rinne engaged to Kirsi Lehtosaari" (in Finnish). kaleva.fi. 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  19. ↑ "Lehtosaari home in Nashville" (in Finnish). iltasanomate.fi. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  20. ↑ "Even before the tour departs" (in Finnish). forum24.fi. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-09. <
  21. ↑ "NHL Star Pekka Rinne on the single market". seiska.fi. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
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