Same Day Analysis: Is Pekka Rinne a Hall of Famer?
The greatest player in the history of the Nashville Predators retires, while Dominique Ducharme is just getting started in Montreal
When Pekka Rinne retired from the NHL after 15 seasons at the age of 38, the greatest goalie the Nashville Predators have ever had and the best NHL netminder Finland has produced – although Tuukka Rask might like a word – hung up his pads for good.
Pekka Rinne was a very, very good goalie for a good team in the Predators for a very, very long time. There have been many seasons in which the Predators, who’ve always seemed to have trouble scoring goals, leaned heavily on their workhorse goaltender and he delivered. So that leads us to the inevitable question. As good as Rinne was for as long as he was, is he a future Hall of Famer?
Let’s look first at what evidence he might have for a case. Despite having the fewest career starts among the group, Rinne is in the top 20 in NHL history in victories. Rinne started 683 games and won 369 of them, which averages out to 0.54 victories per start. Of the goalies in the top 20 in career wins, only Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Brodeur have marks superior to Rinne’s. In addition to winning the Vezina Trophy and being named a first-team all-star in 2017-18, Rinne was a Vezina finalist on three more occasions. He led the league in starts (73), wins (43) and saves (1,987) in 2011-12 and twice led all NHL goaltenders in shutouts.
In Nashville, his No. 35 will undoubtedly be the first in franchise history to be raised to the rafters of Bridgestone Arena. He is not only the greatest goaltender the organization has ever had, he’s also the best player in team history. Off the ice, he helped grow the game in a non-traditional market and was as solid as citizen as you’ll ever find, as evidenced by the fact that he won the King Clancy Trophy this season for his contributions to the community.
Hockey Unfiltered with Ken Campbell is a reader-supported platform. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. Those who want to support my work are encouraged to take out a paid subscription.
But the Hockey Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Really Good Players or the Hall of Really Good Guys. It isn’t always the case, but it should be reserved for the greatest the game has ever seen and Rinne was not that. One can never predict the whims of the 18-member selection committee, a group that has no accountability or transparency in its decisions, so perhaps Rinne will find a spot in the Hall. Predators’ GM David Poile is a member of the committee whose opinion would hold a lot of sway. And this is a group that saw fit to induct Rogie Vachon 34 years after his career ended.
But when you look at the entire body of work, it’s fairly difficult to make a case for Rinne as a Hall of Famer. He was a top-three goaltender in the NHL in four of the 15 seasons he played and was the best one once. Those are the kinds of accomplishments that make Rinne a borderline selection for the Hall, but unlikely to get in. He’s essentially in the same group as the likes of Curtis Joseph, Chris Osgood, Tim Thomas, Mike Vernon, John Vanbiesbrouck and Tom Barrasso, none of whom have received the call.
THREE YEARS ‘DUCHARME’ IN MONTREAL
Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has a lot of work to do this summer. So why not get the easiest box on his to-do list checked off early? Bergevin did that when he removed the ‘interim’ tag from Dominique Ducharme and signed him to a three-year deal to be the 31st coach in franchise history.
Given the Habs’ unlikely run to the Stanley Cup final, it was a pretty easy move to make. Ducharme made it clear that he had no intention to be just passing through, but that might have been exactly what would have happened had the Canadiens not roared back from being down 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round before rolling to the final. There is a lot to like about what Ducharme accomplished in Montreal. He essentially changed the way they played, a transformation that required a lot of faith and buy-in from the players, which he got.
But let’s not forget, the team Ducharme led in the playoffs was not the one that slogged through the final 38 games of the regular season. Are we to forget that the Canadiens were a very unimpressive 15-16-7 under Ducharme during the regular season? Are we also to forget that Ducharme made it quite clear at different points during the playoffs that he’s more comfortable playing worn-out veterans over talented young players?
Perhaps it was just a matter of the Canadiens taking some time to fully grasp Ducharme’s approach. And once they did, they took off like a meteor. Then again, nothing makes a coach look better than a great goalie. Carey Price was that during the playoffs, but was injured and consistently shaky during the regular season. Which Price will materialize for the 2021-22 season? For that matter, which Ducharme will we see, the one who was in jeopardy of losing his job in the regular season or the one who led the Canadiens to the final? Which Canadiens will hit the ice? How will the Canadiens handle their many off-season roster issues?
So many questions. But at least one piece of business was accomplished with the return of Ducharme.