An adoring crowd in Helsinki welcomed Pekka Rinne with a rousing ovation just before he dropped the ceremonial puck at the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki on Thursday.
Rinne, who became the first ever Finnish-born goalie inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame earlier this week, did the honors ahead of the game between the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken.
He was inducted to the Hockey Hall on Monday as part of the Class of 2026 alongside NHL players Carey Price , Patrice Bergeron , Keith Tkachuk and women's player Cindy Curley. Longtime executive Brian Burke was inducted as a builder.
Rinne, who hails from Kempele, was on hand to do the honors in Helsinki for the special event. Instead of the captains taking the honorary faceoff, a pair of Rinne's Finnish countrymen did the honors: Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho , from Rauma and Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko , a native of Turku.
Rinne played 15 NHL seasons and posted 369 career wins, tied for 22nd most in NHL history. He won the Vezina Trophy 2018 and the King Clancy Trophy in 2021. His 2.43 goals-against average is 20th best in League history and career .917 save percentage is 14th all-time.
