Longtime Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday morning after a long career with the franchise. Rinne penned an essay for The Players' Tribune thanking Nashville and also held a press conference to discuss his decision to step away from the game.

Rinne said his final decision came down to two options:

The goaltender got emotional talking about the end of his time with the Predators:

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The Predators drafted Pekka Rinne in the eighth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut in the 2005-06 season and then started to become a fixture in net in the 2008-09 season, quickly becoming one of the best young goaltenders in the league.

Rinne was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2011,2012 and 2015 before finally breaking through and winning the coveted award in 2018. Rinne was a staunch presence in net for a Predators team that was consistently a playoff contender, and they nearly broke through for a Stanley Cup win in 2017 behind his dominant goaltending. Nashville lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Pekka Rinne also won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2021 as his career came to an end. The 38-year-old ends his career as a four-time All-Star with numerous records, including the most wins and shutouts in Predators franchise history and the most wins in NHL history by a Finnish-born goalie.