Pekka Rinne Is Retiring From The NHL After A Decade And A Half

Predators Goalie Pekka Rinne Is Retiring From The NHL

Pekka Rinne is calling it quits after 15 great years in the NHL. He established himself as the Nashville Predators’ greatest goalie in franchise history by quite a stretch. He holds the team’s all-time records for wins, shutouts, games played, starts, goals against average, and saves. A Finnish goalie, Rinne also leads his countrymen in games, starts, wins, and shutouts. His exceptional play has also been recognized around the league with a Vezina Trophy win in 2018 and three separate finalist appearances. He has been incredible as an individual but unfortunately without much team success. The closest Rinne got to the Stanley Cup was in 2017, where his Preds made the Final but ultimately lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games.

While Rinne has long achieved legendary status in Nashville, he also deserves a look at the Hall of Fame. He sits in the Top 20 of NHL all-time games won with 369. This past year he also won the King Clancy trophy. Quite a remarkable career for a 2004 eighth-round pick. Even more admirable is that he did it all with one team. Rinne could have gone elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, he is going to ride off into the Nashville sunset. For the Predators, their future is unclear. Juuse Saros will have big shoes to fill in the net while the team is in a retooling phase. They recently dealt Viktor Arvidsson to the Los Angeles Kings, much to the dismay of star winger Filip Forsberg. In a competitive Western Conference, the Nashville Predators will have their hands full if they want to make it back to the playoffs.

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