Pekka Rinne

1.1. Finnish Career

Rinne began his junior hockey career with the Oulun Kärpät organization, playing for their junior team from 2000 to 2003. He made his debut in the SM-liiga, Finland's top professional league, with Oulun Kärpät during the 2002-03 season, playing one game. In the following season, he appeared in 14 games, primarily serving as the backup to Niklas Bäckström. That season, Kärpät were crowned SM-liiga champions, with Rinne playing two playoff games and not allowing a single goal in either. During the same period, he also played eight games with the Kajaanin Hokki club in the Mestis league as a loan player. In the 2004-05 season, Rinne played 10 matches with Kärpät but remained the backup goaltender to Niklas Bäckström, who was a top goaltender in the SM-liiga. Kärpät also won the Finnish championship in 2005.

1.2. NHL Entry

After his 2004-05 season with Kärpät, Rinne was offered a two-way contract by the Nashville Predators, who had drafted him 258th overall in the eighth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Rinne accepted the offer and signed with the Predators on August 23, 2005. He then moved to North America to begin his professional 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 goaltender for Brian Finley, but due to Finley's poor performance, Rinne quickly became the team's starter. In the summer of 2006, Rinne suffered a dislocated shoulder during an assault, requiring surgery and causing him to miss the first four months of the season.

2.1. Early Seasons (2005-2010)

Rinne made his NHL debut with Nashville during the 2005-06 season, appearing in two games and compiling a record of 1-1-0 with a .900 save percentage and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.80. Following Dan Ellis's strong performance for Nashville in the 2007-08 season, the starting goaltender Chris Mason was traded to the St. Louis Blues. This move led to Rinne being called up to serve as Ellis's backup for the subsequent 2008-09 season.

On December 1, 2008, Rinne became only the second Predators rookie goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout. In February 2009, he achieved nine wins in 12 games, posting an impressive .944 save percentage and a 1.72 GAA, which earned him the NHL Rookie of the Month honor. On March 14, Rinne set a Predators franchise record by recording his seventh shutout of the season. During this period, Rinne was also selected to play for Finland in the 2009 IIHF World Championship, where he started his first game for the Finns with a 30-shot shutout.

2.2. Peak Performance and Major Achievements (2010-2018)

In the 2010-11 season opener, Rinne suffered a lower-body injury after colliding with Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Bodie, leading to Anders Lindbäck temporarily taking over. Rinne returned on December 23 and remained healthy, putting up some of the best numbers of his career, including a 1.71 GAA and .946 save percentage in January. At the season's conclusion, Rinne was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top goaltender, though it was ultimately awarded to Tim Thomas. He also finished fourth in Hart Memorial Trophy voting for the NHL's most valuable player and was named an NHL Second Team All-Star. Rinne played a pivotal role in leading the Predators to their first ever Stanley Cup playoff series win in franchise history in 2011, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 before being eliminated in the second round by the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks.

On October 29, 2011, after shutting out the Ducks, Rinne set a Predators franchise record with 22 career shutouts. On his 29th birthday, November 3, 2011, he signed a seven-year contract worth 49.00 M USD, which was the largest contract in Nashville Predators team history at the time, later surpassed by teammate Shea Weber's 114.00 M USD deal. That same night, Rinne celebrated by posting a 35-save shutout on the road against the Phoenix Coyotes. During the 2011-12 season, Rinne set another franchise record with 11 consecutive wins, surpassing Tomáš Vokoun's previous mark of eight. He had another outstanding year, leading the NHL in wins, shots against, saves, and games played. On April 25, 2012, Rinne was again named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the second consecutive year, which was awarded to Henrik Lundqvist. He also helped the Predators advance past the Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 playoffs with a 4-1 series win. However, the Predators were unable to progress further, falling to the Phoenix Coyotes in five games in the second round for the second consecutive season.

On September 25, 2012, during the impending 2012-13 NHL lockout, Rinne joined Belarusian club Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He left Dinamo in December and returned to the Predators in January 2013 when the lockout ended, beginning the shortened 48-game 2012-13 season. In May 2013, Rinne underwent a hip arthroscopy. However, his hip became infected on October 24, 2013, sidelining him for the remainder of the year as he underwent rigorous rehabilitation. He returned to action on March 5, 2014, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing three goals in a 3-1 loss.

On March 14, 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 only the third goaltender in the NHL's expansion era to achieve 30 wins in 39 games or less. Rinne was nominated for the 2015 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which ultimately went to Jaromír Jágr. He was also a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2015, marking his third career nomination, though he lost to Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.

On March 16, 2017, Rinne became the 67th goaltender to play at least 500 NHL games. He recorded his first two career shutouts in the first two games of the opening round of the 2017 playoffs, as the Predators won Game 1 by a score of 1-0 and Game 2 by 5-0. On May 22, Rinne backstopped the Predators to their first ever 2017 Stanley Cup Finals appearance by defeating the Anaheim Ducks four games to two. The Predators ultimately lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two.

On November 24, 2017, the Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-0, with Rinne recording his 45th career shutout. This achievement made him the NHL's all-time leader among Finnish-born goaltenders, surpassing Miikka Kiprusoff's 44 shutouts. On February 22, 2018, Rinne became the 34th goaltender to record 300 career NHL wins following a 7-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. At the time of his 300th win, he had the third-highest win percentage (54.34%) of all goaltenders with at least 300 wins, trailing only Martin Brodeur and Marc-André Fleury. On April 17, Rinne was again named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which he subsequently won on June 20, marking his first Vezina Trophy win.

2.3. Later Seasons and Retirement (2018-2021)

On November 3, 2018, Rinne signed a two-year, 10.00 M USD contract extension with Nashville. On the same night, mirroring his 2011 contract signing, Rinne posted a 26-save shutout over the visiting Boston Bruins in Nashville.

On January 9, 2020, Rinne made history by becoming the 12th goaltender in NHL history and the second goaltender in Predators history to score a goal. He achieved this by shooting the puck into an empty net from behind his team's goal line with less than 22 seconds remaining in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

On May 10, 2021, in the final game of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Rinne posted a 30-save shutout in a 5-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. This victory marked his 369th career win, tying him for 19th all-time with Tom Barrasso. It was also his 60th career shutout, moving him past Evgeni Nabokov for 19th all-time on that list.

On July 13, 2021, Pekka Rinne officially announced his retirement from professional hockey. The Nashville Predators subsequently announced that Rinne's number 35 jersey would be retired on February 24, 2022, making him the first player in team history to receive this honor.

8.1. NHL Awards

8.2. International Awards

8.3. League Awards

10.1. Regular season and playoffs

10.2. International