"Personally, I'm just looking for a bounce-back season," Rinne said. "I'm not happy about last season and not happy about my level of play. [I've been] getting ready physically and mentally these past four months since the playoffs, and I'm just very excited. I mean, at this point in my career, the only thing I'm thinking about is winning and bouncing back, not so much [individual accolades]. But at the same time, I do want to step up personally and bounce back from last year."
Even with down numbers last season, Rinne won 18 games to push his career total to 359, the 20th-most in NHL history - and he also scored a goal.
Rinne became the 12th goaltender in NHL history to score when he fired a puck from his own end into an empty net on Jan. 9 at Chicago. He was just the seventh different goaltender in NHL history to score with a shot on goal, and he joined Preds broadcaster Chris Mason as the only other goaltender in Predators history to score a goal; Mason was credited with a goal on April 15, 2006, vs. Phoenix.
Along with fellow Finn Juuse Saros, Rinne is still part of one of the NHL's best tandems, and he still remains a backbone of the Nashville Predators.
By the Numbers:
- Rinne appeared in his 650th career NHL game on Jan. 14 at Edmonton, breaking Kari Lehtonen's record for most games played by a Finnish-born goaltender in League history.
- He holds nearly every franchise goaltending record, including appearances (659), wins (359), shutouts (58), saves (17,025), minutes played (38,103) and goals-against average (2.42).
- Rinne won his first career Vezina Trophy in 2018 after finishing first in save percentage (.927), even-strength save percentage (.939) and goals-against average (2.31) that season. He is a four-time Vezina Trophy finalist (2011, 2012, 2015 and 2018) and is one of just 20 goalies in NHL history to win at least 300 games and record at least 50 shutouts.
Fun Fact:
- Rinne and his partner, Erika, welcomed their first child, a baby boy, Paulus, in December of 2020.
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