Pekka Rinne will be on crutches for six weeks after hip surgery, the Nashville Predators goaltender told The Tennessean on Monday.
Rinne is expected to be ready for training camp after having a hip arthroscopy May 8. Recovery time was projected to be four months.
"I'm positive it will be better," Rinne said Monday at Bridgestone Arena. "Right now I'm just happy it's taken care of and hopefully I can return stronger. I'm sure once I get back on the ice, I'll notice the biggest differences."
Rinne had a career-low .910 save percentage this season and was under .500 (15-16-8) for the first time in his career. The Predators failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009.
"I was disappointed that I can't have a normal summer and do all the things I usually do in the offseason, but you just have to do as good a job as you can," Rinne said. "There are still plenty of things that after a month or six weeks … we'll see how much more intensive the rehab and training gets."
Rinne could have put off the surgery but spoke to other players who have had it, including former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.
"At first when I realized it had to be done I was disappointed," Rinne said. "But once I started talking to other players, I … just tried to gather as much information as I could. I was asking how their experience was, how the surgery was, how the rehab part of the process was and how they feel today after playing with the hip. I think that was one of the things that made me feel comfortable."
Rinne, who turns 31 in November, completed the first year of a seven-year deal that will pay him $49 million.
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