Pekka Rinne

Pekka Rinne
Born	November 3, 1982 (1982-11-03) Kempele, FIN
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Nashville Predators
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	258th overall, 2004 Nashville Predators
Playing career	2001–present

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

Playing career

Rinne playing for the Predators in 2010

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

Rinne was drafted 258th overall in the 8th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was signed by the Predators on August 23, 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"^{[citation needed]} 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 GAA of 3.80.

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

On December 1, 2008, Rinne became only the second Predators rookie goaltender ever to record a shutout. In February 2009, Rinne recorded nine wins in twelve games and had a 0.944 save percentage and a 1.72 goals against average. He was selected as the NHL rookie of the month. On March 14, Rinne set a Predators franchise record with his seventh shutout of the season. Rinne was one of two goaltenders to play for Finland in the 2009 IIHF World Championship of hockey, the other one being Karri Rämö. Rinne started the tournament with a shutout in his first game in the Finnish national hockey team, saving 30 shots.

In the 2010-11 season opener, Rinne allowed a goal before colliding with Ducks forward Troy Bodie and suffering a lower-body injury. Anders Lindback relieved him and went on to start three games before Rinne returned, only to go down again in December. Since returning on December 23, Rinne has remained healthy and put up some of the better 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 best goaltender in the NHL as judged by the league's General Managers. He finished 4th in the Hart Trophy voting and was also named an NHL Second Team All-Star. Rinne led the Predators to their first ever playoff series win in franchise history, in the 2010–11 playoffs.

After shutting out the Anaheim Ducks on October 29, 2011, Rinne now holds the Predators franchise record for shutouts with 22. On November 3, 2011, Rinne signed a 7-year deal worth $49 million, the Nashville. Predator's largest contract in team history. During the 2011-12 season, Rinne set a franchise record with 11 consecutive wins, passing Tomas Vokoun's previous mark of 8.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	OTL	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2002–03	Kärpät	FNL		1	0	1	0	—	60	3	0	3.00	.893
2003–04	Kärpät	FNL		14	5	4	4	—	824	41	0	2.99	.897
2004–05	Kärpät	FNL		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
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
2007–08	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		65	36	24	3	—	3840	158	5	2.47	.908
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
2010–11	Nashville Predators	NHL		64	33	22	—	9	3789	134	6	2.12	.930
NHL totals				177	95	54	—	18	10127	394	20	2.33	.920

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2003–04	Kärpät	FNL		2	1	0	22	0	0	0.00	1.000
2005–06	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		14	10	4	734	35	3	2.86	.905
2006–07	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		4	0	4	247	12	0	2.91	—
2007–08	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		6	2	4	—	15	1	2.51	.923
2009–10	Nashville Predators	NHL		6	2	4	358	16	0	2.68	.911
2010–11	Nashville Predators	NHL		12	6	6	748	32	0	2.57	.907
NHL totals				18	8	10	1,106	48	0	2.60	.908

External links

• PekkaRinne.Com - Official Site
• Pekka Rinne on nhlfinns.com
• Pekka Rinne's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Pekka Rinne @ hockeysfuture.com