Pekka Rinne holds the distinction of being the top Finnish-born goaltender to have played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the number of games played, the most wins and the most shutouts. All of these accomplishments were achieved playing with the Nashville Predators, with whom he played 15 outstanding seasons.

Born November 3, 1982 in Kempele, Finland, Rinne played with Kärpät Oulu U20 for three seasons, beginning with 2000-01. He was summoned to play one game with Kärpät Oulu during the 2002-03 Liiga (Finnish Elite Hockey League) season. In 2003-04, Rinne played eight games with Hokki Kajaani during the Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) and with Kärpät Oulu in Liiga (Finnish Elite Hockey League) in 2003-04 and 2004-05. The team won back-to-back Liiga Canada Bowl championships with Rinne in goal.

At the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Pekka Rinne was selected in the 8th round, pick number 258, by the Nashville Predators. He played parts of three seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2005-06 to 2007-08, including the honour of playing in the AHL’s annual All-Star Classic in 2006 and 2008.

Rinne played his entire NHL career with the Nashville Predators. Through 15 seasons, he played in 683 regular season games, starting 667 of them, recording 369 wins and 60 shutouts. He recorded eight career 30-win seasons and three 40-win seasons. He won his first regular season game in his debut on December 15, 2005 against the Chicago Blackhawks and registered a shutout in his final regular season game on May 10, 2021 versus the Carolina Hurricanes. In addition, Pekka started 89 playoff games, winning 45. He became only the fourth goaltender since 1967-68 to win all four games of a playoff series while recording a goals-against average of 0.70 or less. Rinne retired as the Predators’ leader in several goaltending categories, including games played, wins and shutouts. His career goals-against average (GAA) of 2.43 is fourth all-time for netminders with at least 350 NHL regular season wins and is one of only 13 goaltenders to register 350 wins and 60 shutouts during his career. Notable as well is that Pekka became just the 12th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal, and the seventh to do so via a shot on goal which he did on January 9, 2020 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Rinne helped the Predators win the 2016-17 Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as the NHL’s Western Conference champions, earning the franchise its first-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. The next season, he was superb in backstopping Nashville to the 2017-18 Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s regular season champions. At the NHL Awards that season, Pekka Rinne was named the recipient of the Vezina Trophy. Earlier in his career, he had been a finalist for the Vezina in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2014-15. Rinne played in the annual NHL All-Star Game in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. He was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2010-11 and was a First Team All-Star in 2017-18. The King Clancy Memorial Award is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. Pekka was the recipient of the honour in 2020-21.

Rinne represented Finland at the 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships. At the 2014 World Championship, he was named as the All-Star Team Goalie and also was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In 2015, he was the IIHF Directorate Best Goalie at the World Championship, establishing a modern-day shutout streak record of 237:05. He never posted a goals-against average higher than 1.93 or a save percentage lower than 92.6 during his World Championship appearances. Additionally, Rinne played one game with Finland at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

For his contributions to the franchise during his glorious career, the Nashville Predators retired his number 35 jersey on February 24, 2022. In doing so, Rinne became the first player in Predators’ history to have his number retired. On March 25, 2023, a statue of Pekka was unveiled, immortalizing him even further. To this day, Rinne maintains a Player Development role with the Nashville Predators as their European Development Coach and Scout.

In 2024, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. In 2026, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Pekka Rinne into its Player Category.