MEMORIES: Five memorable moments Pekka Rinne had with the Nashville Predators MORE THAN HOCKEY: Former Nashville Predator Pekka Rinne's statue symbolizes more than just hockey 'I'll be watching you guys going down Broadway,' Rinne joked. Predators Day 1 season-ticket older Scott Wise spent a year making the statue that is sure to stand facing Broadway for many, many years to come. The man with his number retired and hanging from the rafters inside Bridgestone, the man who holds nearly every goalie record in franchise history, the man who has a goat named after him at the Nashville Zoo became just the sixth goalie in NHL history to have a statue erected in his honor. I'm just going to point out the door, 'That's me.'

'Maybe it helps me get into the game in the future,' Rinne later joked.

View Gallery: Pekka Rinne's jersey retired by Nashville Predators: Our best photos Onlookers craned their necks trying to sneak a peak at Rinne and his newly unveiled statue a few hours before the Predators faced the Seattle Kraken. His wife Erika Parkko, who held their curly-haired, 2-year-old son Paulus.įormer teammates such as Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Kevin Klein and J-P Dumont also showed up to show support for a man described by Nashville Predators general manager David Poile as 'the greatest player in franchise history.' Former Predators coach and future Predators GM Barry Trotz was there, too, along with Rinne's first goalie coach, Mitch Korn.Ī sea of people wearing mostly gold sweaters, mostly with the name 'Rinne' and the number 35 on the back, surrounded center stage. John Lewis Way on Saturday morning, a black sheet covering a nearly 12-foot tall, nearly 900-pound statue waved high in the warm wind above the sun-soaked plaza outside Bridgestone Arena.īlack chairs with name placards taped to them reserved seats belonging to people such as Pekka Rinne's parents, Jukka and Helena Rinne, and his two sisters. Inside a roped-off area on the corner of Broadway and Rep. Since the establishment of the fund, donations totaling more than $3 million have been made to the hospital and its programs.Watch Video: Pekka Rinne statue unveiling ceremony Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. The fund's focus is to support the Monroe Carell Jr. The bulk of his life-changing work has come through the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund presented by Twice Daily, which he launched alongside former Predators Captain Shea Weber during the 2012-13 season. Off the ice, Rinne won the 2021 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an appropriate recognition of a career spent dedicated to the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities and the Predators Foundation. Further signifying his impact on the NHL's record books, Rinne is one of 12 goaltenders in League history to notch at least 350 wins and 60 shutouts, with eight members of that group enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rinne's career goals-against average of 2.43 is tied for the fifth-best mark among goaltenders with at least 350 wins in NHL history, trailing only Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur, Jacques Plante and Jonathan Quick. The winner of the 2018 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender, Rinne was also a finalist for the award three other times (2011, 20), he was a four-time NHL All-Star (2015, 2016, 20) and he was twice voted to the NHL's year-end All-Star Teams, including a First Team nod in 2017-18.

Rinne, who served as Goaltending Coach for Finland's silver-medal team at the 2022 World Junior Championship, retired in July 2021 as the franchise leader in nearly every goaltending category, including games played (683), wins (369), goals-against average (2.43), total TOI (39,413:29), shutouts (60) and saves (17,627) in NHL history, he sits 19th in shutouts and is tied for 19th in victories. Having his experience and presence will deeply benefit our entire organization both on and off the ice.' 'In addition to being such an impactful person in our community, we have no doubt that he will be a valuable resource for all the goaltenders in our system. 'Since his retirement from playing, we've reminisced fondly about all the memories Pekka provided not only everyone in our organization but Predators fans worldwide, so we couldn't be more excited to welcome him back in this capacity,' Poile said.

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