Rinne was selected in eighth round (No. 258) by the Nashville Predators in the 2004 NHL Draft, soon after he and Karpat Oulu won the first of two consecutive championships in Liiga, the top professional league in his native Finland.

He played his entire 13-season NHL career for the Predators, retiring as their regular-season leader in games (683), starts (667), wins (369), shutouts (60), goals-against average (2.43) and saves (17,627) and had a .917 save percentage. He is first among Finland-born goalies in NHL regular-season games, starts, wins and shutouts, is tied with Tom Barrasso for 19th in NHL wins, and is 19th in shutouts.

He moved to North America for the 2005-06 season and won his NHL debut for Nashville on Dec. 15, 2005, against the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the first of two games he played in the League that season. Rinne tied for second in the American Hockey League with 30 regular-season wins in 2005-06, then had 10 postseason wins (three shutouts) to lead Milwaukee to the 2006 Calder Cup Final.

In 2007-08 Rinne led the AHL in wins (36) and appeared in the AHL All-Star Classic. Having played three NHL games prior to 2008-09, he appeared in 52 games with the Predators that season and finished fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy, given to the League's top rookie. Rinne had 29 wins, was fourth among NHL goaltenders with seven shutouts and played in the 2009 YoungStars Game.

Rinne had four shutouts in nine games from March 12-27, 2010. He won his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in Game 1 of the first round that season against the Chicago Blackhawks, the first road victory in Predators playoff history.

In 2010-11 he was second in Vezina Trophy voting and fourth in Hart Trophy voting while ranking second among NHL goalies (minimum 20 games) in save percentage (.930) and third in goals-against average (2.12). Rinne also helped Nashville to its first playoff series victory, in the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Anaheim Ducks.

After leading NHL goalies in wins (43) saves (1,987), games (73) and points (five) during 2011-12, Rinne finished third in Vezina balloting. He tied for the NHL lead with five shutouts in 2012-13 and had a shutout streak of 155:06 from Feb. 10-16, 2013.

Rinne was named the most valuable player of the 2014 IIHF World Championship after he went 5-3 with a 1.88 GAA, .928 save percentage and three shutouts to lead Finland to a second-place finish. In 2014-15 he tied for second in the NHL wins (41) and was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy.

Rinne's goaltending was key to Nashville's first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. He was 14-8 with a 1.96 GAA and .930 save percentage in 22 playoff games, helping Nashville eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Final.

After being runner-up for the Vezina twice, Rinne won the award given to the NHL's best goalie in 2018, finishing 42-13-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .927 save percentage and eight shutouts. He also became the 12th NHL goalie to score a goal when he shot the puck from behind his own goal line into an empty net against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 9, 2020.

In 2021 Rinne won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. Among his contributions was joining with former teammate Shea Weber to spearhead the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund, which raises money and awareness for cancer research and has donated more than $3 million since 2012-13.

Rinne had his No. 35 retired by the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 24, 2022.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• NHL Second All-Star Team (2011)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2016, 2018, 2019)
• NHL First All-Star Team (2018)
• Signed as a free agent by Minsk (KHL), September 25, 2012.