{"id":12356,"date":"2021-12-10T04:02:56","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12356"},"modified":"2021-12-10T04:02:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:56","slug":"still-at-the-top-of-his-game-pekka-rinne-isnt-really-thinking-about-retirement-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12356","title":{"rendered":"Still at the Top of His Game, Pekka Rinne Isn’t Really Thinking About Retirement Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

By\u00a0ALEX PREWITT<\/p>\n

December 17, 2018<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
By\u00a0ALEX P<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

If everything had gone according to his original plan, Pekka Rinne would be headed for retirement at the end of the 2018-19 NHL season. He would be making his farewell tour now, visiting rinks for the last time, shaking hands with old opponents, maybe even snagging some parting gifts along the way. From there, the Predators goalie would hang up his mask and decide what would come next: owning a restaurant, opening a clothing store, finding another job in hockey, working on his tennis serve…<\/p>\n

Click Here: Highlanders rugby store<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my thing,\u201d Rinne says. \u201cI always thought that this year would be my last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

PREWITT: How the Predators Took Over Football-Loving Nashville<\/strong><\/p>\n

He had believed as much since Nov. 3, 2011, when his 29th birthday was celebrated by signing a\u00a0seven-year, $49 million extension with Nashville. Back then it was the most lucrative contract awarded to a cap-era netminder, not to mention a daunting term length that Rinne couldn\u2019t imagine playing past. \u201cSometimes it felt like a burden weighing on your shoulder,\u201d he says. \u201cEarly on, it was hard for me to accept. I put a lot of pressure on myself. It felt like I\u2019m getting paid a lot, for a long period, and I always felt like, man, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly the doubt has disappeared. Entering Monday night\u2019s tilt against Ottawa, the 36-year-old Rinne led the league in goals against average (1.96) while ranking second in overall save percentage (.930) and\u00a0first at 5-on-5 (.950). He is hardly the only NHL goalie fending off pucks and Father Time alike; Ottawa\u2019s Craig Andersen and the Rangers\u2019 Henrik Lundqvist have each started more games and were born earlier. But Rinne has shirked a pension for a historic path: At this rate, he could become the first repeat Vezina Trophy winner since Martin Brodeur (\u201806-\u201908) and the first in league history to\u00a0capture both after turning 35.<\/p>\n

No wonder those retirement plans have been put on indefinite hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember seeing guys who were 36 and thinking, \u2018Okay, that\u2019s pretty much the age I\u2019m aiming for,\u2019\u201d Rinne says. \u201cAnd now that I\u2019m there, I\u2019ve been having so much fun. I feel much better than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s life. Plans change. Just ask Ray Shero.<\/p>\n

In Feb. 2004, the Predators assistant GM was seeing prospects in Helsinki when pro scout Janne Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen asked if he wanted to tag along on a taxi ride to nearby Oulu, Finland and check out a backup goalie \u2026 who wasn\u2019t even playing that night. Fourteen years later, Shero remembers three things: the blackout northern sky, the sub-zero winter temperatures, and the fruitless task of trying to evaluate Pekka Rinne during warmups.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\u201cWhat if he played and gave up nine goals?\u201d says Shero, now the Devils\u2019 GM. \u201cHe was probably better off staying on the bench for Nashville\u2019s sake. What a story.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Four months later, entirely at Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen\u2019s behest, Nashville tabbed Rinne with the final selection of the eighth round, 258th overall. When his agent texted the news, Rinne had been attending a big midsummer party at his friend\u2019s cottage. \u201cI was like, you must be joking,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t really expect that.\u201d Of course, the Predators couldn\u2019t have expected to unearth the face of their franchise with a pick so late that it no longer exists, either.<\/p>\n

This truth began crystallizing at his first development camp. Watching a series of mobility drills from behind the net, staffers gushed over Rinne\u2019s size (6\u20195\u201d), quickness and focus. \u201cWe looked at each other at the same time and said, \u2018That\u2019s the one,\u2019\u201d then-goaltending coach Mitch Korn recalled several years ago.<\/p>\n

\n
Armed with a flytrap glove and supreme puck-handling skills, Rinne soon became a pillar of the Predators\u2019 early forays into NHL relevancy, leading them to consecutive second-round appearances and finishing as a back-to-back Vezina finalist in \u201810-11 and \u201811-12. \u201cThe Big Eraser,\u201d ex-coach Barry Trotz called him. In between, Rinne was rewarded with that whopper extension, which came at an otherwise tumultuous time for the organization\u2019s finances, and not long before both Ryan Suter and Shea Weber would sign offer sheets.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe were having trouble keeping our players,\u201d GM David Poile says. \u201cThe fact that we were able to keep one of our top assets with us, that was for sure the longest commitment we\u2019d ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time passed. Rinne developed an on-again, off-again pattern of performance through four seasons,\u00a0backstopping Nashville\u2019s first-ever run to the Stanley Cup final in \u201816-17\u00a0but getting pulled from two of three starts against eventual-champion Pittsburgh. Even after tasting a Western Conference title, though, Rinne still figured that his clock was ticking when last fall rolled around. Then the Predators won the Presidents\u2019 Trophy and\u00a0Rinne led the NHL with 27.49 goals saved above average, earning a trip to\u2014and triumph at\u2014the awards ceremony in Las Vegas. That\u2019s when the plan changed. \u201cIt was pretty clear to me that coming into the last year of that deal that I wanted to keep going,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 3, hours before blanking Boston in a 26-save shutout, Rinne hit the ice for Nashville\u2019s morning skate with a stomach full of chocolate cake. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t too pleasant,\u201d he says, laughing.<\/div>\n

Okay, so the indigestion sucked. But everything else must\u2019ve tasted pretty sweet. Even Rinne, who describes himself as \u201cnot a huge fan of birthdays,\u201d admits as much. Earlier that day, the Predators had commemorated the seventh anniversary of his last deal by\u00a0re-upping Rinne for another two years\u00a0($5 million annually), ensuring that he will stick around through 2020-21. Upon signing the paperwork, Poile had walked Rinne to the locker room, where the entire team was gathered to celebrate: candles, singing, the whole shebang.<\/p>\n

\n
In 33 years as an NHL GM, Poile had never recognized a contract like this before. Money is an inherently personal matter. And what if another player got jealous? \u201cIn my mind, Pekka transcends any thoughts I had about that,\u201d Poile says. \u201cI wanted everyone to know how special we felt Pekka was, the importance in our history, the importance of having him going forward.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The org chart in Nashville is littered with longtime employees, but few have directly influenced the team\u2019s steady rise like Poile and Pekka. As such, they have a strong relationship; when Nashville advanced past the second round for the first time in \u201816-17, it was Poile who hugged Rinne during the celebration and whispered to the goalie, \u201cFinally!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
And so Poile wanted to wait until Rinne returned for training camp before opening extension talks face-to-face. Finer details needed ironing out; Poile recalls \u201cquite a few discussions\u201d about where the team was headed. But once both parties expressed a mutual desire for Rinne to retire wearing navy blue and gold, the rest wasn\u2019t hard. \u201cI was open that I wanted to stay here,\u201d Rinne says.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not hard to see why. The Stanley Cup window remains flung wide open, largely thanks to Poile\u2019s bold trades and shrewd salary management, which has the league\u2019s best blue line locked up through \u201819-20. Rinne, meanwhile, remains the only Predators player whose contract contains no-trade\/no-move protection, which means that he can continue enjoying what he calls \u201ca super-regular life\u201d in Nashville. The vibrant downtown restaurant scene. The ample hiking trails. The friends he has developed outside hockey, just ordinary folks around town. The nice weather that lets him play tennis with his girlfriend during the season. \u201cDon\u2019t know if I\u2019m allowed to,\u201d he says, laughing again.<\/p>\n

\n
Of course, there are always reminders of his age. For starters, the NHL has never been younger or more collectively skilled. The night before calling from a road trip to chat for this story, Rinne got juked by Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson on a penalty shot and wound up faceplanting into the 20-year-old\u2019s kneecap. \u201cYeah, f—er,\u201d Rinne says, employing profanity as a term of endearment. \u201cI was very impressed.\u201d And the Predators already have tabbed his heir apparent in countryman Juuse Saros, 23, who calls Rinne \u201ca big idol for me.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Even so, Rinne is far from slowing down. On Nov. 22, he eclipsed Miikka Kiprusoff for most victories among Finnish goalies with 320. Last week, he moved into 25th on the all-time wins list with 325. He still eats just as well\u2014cake aside\u2014and still trains just as hard, but reports taking weekly yoga classes in the summer and seeking out the Predators\u2019 massage therapist \u201cway more than I used to.\u201d With the help of goalie coach Ben Vanderklok, he also fixed his posture by keeping his back more upright and stationed himself deeper in the crease. \u201cIn the past I would trust my athletic ability more and I would play way more desperate, just read and react,\u201d Rinne says. \u201cStill play an athletic game. Just let the game come to you. To me, that feels like it has made a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
Whenever Rinne does finally retire, Poile envisions No. 35 becoming the first jersey to hang in the Bridgestone Arena rafters. \u201cI don\u2019t want to put the cart ahead of the horse,\u201d Poile says, \u201cbut if we\u2019re going to start somewhere, he\u2019d seem like a logical place to start.\u201d Unlike two years ago, though, Rinne no longer has a date for that in mind. He still wonders about what the future may hold\u2014the restaurant, the clothing store, the possibility of keeping a house in Nashville to spend winters. Maybe he will take time away from hockey to pursue something else. Maybe he will stick around for another year, celebrating with candles and cake.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d says Rinne, \u201cwho knows?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0ALEX PREWITT December 17, 2018 By\u00a0ALEX P If everything had gone according to his original plan, Pekka Rinne would be headed for retirement at the end of the 2018-19 NHL season. He would be making his farewell tour now, visiting rinks for the last time, shaking hands with old opponents, maybe even snagging some parting … <\/p>\n

Read more “Still at the Top of His Game, Pekka Rinne Isn’t Really Thinking About Retirement Anymore”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}