Rinne's Retirement Leaves One Last Thing to Say - Thank You

There are no more sticks to tape, no more pads to strap on, no more pucks to stop.
The final morning skate, pregame nap and Saturday night in Smashville have already happened.
His name won't echo through the bowels of Bridgestone Arena come October like it has for the past 15 years.
Today, Pekka Rinne's agenda has one item on it: to say thank you.

He wishes to acknowledge his fiancée and young son, his parents and sisters, extended family and friends, teammates, coaches and trainers past and present - every individual who played even the smallest part in helping a kid from Finland become Nashville's favorite son.
And, of course, he's beyond thankful to the fans, the ones who have supported him through the highs and lows of his career, the ones who, no matter what, have always made sure he received the loudest ovation of anyone in the starting lineup through all those years.
Rinne made those recognitions as he announced his retirement from the game of hockey Tuesday morning, a moment every athlete must encounter no matter how emotional the decision might be.
But, really, we should be thanking him.
We should also be thanking Brad Richardson.
You see, once Rinne played what has now become his last game in the NHL, once he made his final save with five minutes and 32 seconds remaining in regulation time on May 10 at Bridgestone Arena, something amazing happened.
That last stop was No. 30 of the night in a 5-0 shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes to end the 2020-21 season, and deservedly so, Rinne was named the game's No. 1 star. He took the customary wave to the crowd, perhaps lingering a little longer than normal to soak it all in after the fans had chanted his name over and over again, as the third period ticked away, knowing that just might be it.
Rinne's teammates, 19 of them still in their uniforms, and the others dressed in suits, watched from the ice and the bench as the netminder had his moment.
Then, as Rinne began to retreat in the direction of the locker room ready for the spotlights to come back up, his peers refused to let the occasion end. Instead, the goaltender was waved along once more as he began to skate a lap around the ice, seeming to take the time to acknowledge each and every one of the 8,000 patrons in the limited capacity crowd that night.
Even so, the building felt full in a way, the emotional connection palpable between Rinne and those who adore him more than any other athlete this city has ever seen.
Perhaps the best part of it all was the nature of how the whole spectacle occurred - entirely organically, none of it planned, but still as perfect as could be.
No one - not even Rinne - knew what the future held at the time, but everyone wanted to ensure the Finn received the proper recognition, just in case.
After Rinne eventually departed and addressed the media, he revealed it was Richardson who told him to go for a skate - and subsequently produce one of the top moments in franchise history.
Among the questions Rinne fielded that night, he was asked about the moment and whether he was satisfied with how things had played out if that was indeed his final outing.
"If it is, I'm pretty happy," the ever-humble Rinne grinned.

His first NHL game - and start - came 10 days before Christmas in 2005, and Rinne earned the win as the Preds beat the Blackhawks, 5-3, in Nashville - and, of course, he made 35 saves.
Three seasons later, the 258th pick in the 2004 NHL Draft had earned the starting job in the Nashville net, and for the next decade-plus, Rinne stopped puck after puck for the Preds.
A four-time NHL All-Star, a Vezina Trophy winner and the owner of virtually every goaltending record in franchise history, Rinne has made the most indelible impact of any player to sport the Predators logo.
Now, 369 wins, 60 shutouts and 17,627 saves later, he's decided the time is right to skate away.
A new father and soon-to-be husband, Rinne's priorities have understandably shifted over the past year. He won't be leading his team out to the ice ever again, but we'll always have the unforgettable memories he gave to us time after time.
And while we'll never be able to reciprocate what he's given to each and every one of us, we can sure try.
Of all the players I've had the privilege to cover over the past seven years during my time in Nashville, no one I've encountered has a bigger heart than Rinne.
I'll miss his acknowledgements in the locker room, on the bus and everywhere in between, because he's too nice of a guy to not give at least a head nod every single time.
I'll miss the moments of joy, like when he scored a goal of his own in Chicago back in January of 2019, lofting the puck into the empty net before having to shoo away his teammates, who begged for him to skate by the bench to receive the customary fist bumps. He tried to remain grounded after the fact speaking to reporters later that night, but he simply couldn't wipe his smile away.
I'll remember the day he signed what has now become his final NHL contract - a two-year deal on his birthday - and then proceeded to shut out the Bruins that night on home ice, another moment the elite athletes just seem to have a knack for embracing.
The tear he shed on stage in Las Vegas after winning the Vezina in 2018, the chants of "Pekka, Pekka, Pekka" any time he traversed through a mass of Predators fans, the millions of dollars he's helped to raise for Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and the countless stick salutes to a Bridgestone Arena crowd after another victory - I'll never forget any of it, and I know you won't either.
So, let's also have one item on our to-do lists today: to say "thank you" to Rinne for everything he's done for this franchise, this city and this game we all love.
No one has ever received stronger praise at the start of the night - nor at the end - in these parts, and they probably never will.
And if you thought those cheers were loud, just wait until that No. 35 heads to the rafters one day.