Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has one more chance for certain

Pekka Rinne opened a vein Saturday, letting us into the head of a proud competitor who feels prepared to handle a big moment in his career and then gets clobbered by it. More on that later.

First, the forward glance from Rinne’s press briefing in the Nashville Predators’ workout room at Bridgestone Arena, two days after their season ended in a 5-1 Game 7 loss to Winnipeg: Next year is the last of a seven-year, $49 million deal he signed in 2011, and he knows nothing beyond that. He knows he has next year to chase the Stanley Cup, and a team capable of chasing it with him, and that’s the focus.

“I still feel great and obviously, this year you want to have a good summer and really come back strong next year,” said Rinne, who will turn 36 in November. “You want to be able to … finish on your own terms. You can’t control everything but that’s something you can, you put in the work and try to prepare yourself, just to make sure you’re ready…”

“You’re getting up there, I realize I have one year on my deal. Haven’t made any plans, haven’t talked about anything behind that. So for sure, to me, I look at these last couple years, it’s our chance. Me personally, too, it’s my chance to do something special and win. So for sure, next year I’m looking at it that way.”

There are a couple things we can safely say. One, Rinne is going to walk away with the Vezina Trophy at the NHL Awards in June, for the first time in his career, after he was the best goaltender in the league in the regular season (general managers voted before the playoffs began). Two, he will be Nashville’s starting goaltender when the 2018-19 season commences.

The Pekka Rinne/Juuse Saros dynamic

After that, it gets murky. It is possible the organization could look to extend him for a year before the season begins, but more likely this is wait and see on both sides. The club will sign heir apparent Juuse Saros to some kind of deal – he’s a 23-year-old restricted free agent who made $742,500 this season – and he figures to continue getting more work.

At some point, if Saros continues progressing, he will take over for Rinne, his mentor, close friend and fellow Finn. Maybe next year will hasten the transition. Maybe Rinne will return to form after this erratic postseason and continue defying the clock that says his time should be up soon. Maybe Peter Laviolette will be more likely to use both guys when the next postseason arrives.

“He’s playing so well,” the 6-foot-5 Rinne said of the 5-11 Saros. “He’s just a special young goalie. He’s proving a lot of people wrong with everything, with his size and everything like that. I’m just personally very happy for him, seeing the success he’s having. But at the same time, it’s a competition and you’re competing against your friend. For sure, he’ll be playing more and he’s only getting better. I can’t see the future, but eventually I’m sure at some point, it’s time for me to step on the side or do something else. For sure, he’s coming.”

And the outside world will be quicker to call for a switch, for whatever that’s worth, after Rinne went 7-6 with a 3.07 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in the postseason. This after he went 42-13-4 in the regular season with a 2.31 goals-against average and .927 save percentage, numbers that will have him honored as the league’s best goalie for the first time.

Several Predators popped in to speak to reporters before dispersing for the summer, and assessments of Rinne remained consistent, Ryan Ellis saying: “We don’t accomplish what we did this year without him, and he was the main driving force behind that. And obviously in the playoffs it’s not one guy, it’s the team. We didn’t get it done.”

“If anything, a little bit of age has made him better,” Austin Watson said of Rinne. “And that’s awesome, he works so hard and he takes care of himself so well, and he’s always trying to get better too.”

'It's like a nightmare'

Rinne had two shutouts in the postseason, in Game 6 at Colorado to close out that series and in Game 6 at Winnipeg to force a Game 7. Some of the games that fattened his numbers were much more about poor defensive play than his failings. But he didn’t do enough to make up for that defensive play at times, and he didn’t sugarcoat things Saturday.

“I just couldn’t find my best game,” he said. “I felt good all the time, and obviously had a strong regular season. But for some reason, it was very rocky, it was up and down. Good game and then, you know, then fighting it a little bit. That continued throughout the playoffs. And it was something that I really tried to focus on, you know? Tried to build. Game 6 (at Winnipeg) I had a really strong game, and coming into Game 7, feeling confident. And just, it’s hard to understand why things like that happen.”

Things like giving up two soft goals and being pulled before Game 7 is 11 minutes old. Rinne did not see it coming until it came.

“No, I felt great in Game 7,” he said. “And just fluky, fluky goals. And obviously, it’s like a nightmare. You play Game 7, you always dream about playing those games. Having a positive impact on the game, being a difference maker. But when things go south, it’s obviously something that … it just feels so awful.”

Honesty, accountability, class – these are all things Rinne has in abundance, part of why he will be remembered as one of this city’s favorite athletes if he never stops another puck. These traits don’t guarantee he will ever do it well enough to win a Stanley Cup. But as he moves past the misery and gears up for the next chance – maybe the last chance – I have to believe he will prepare for it like a rookie trying to make a team.

“I’m 35 years old and right now it’s just a number,” Rinne said. “A lot of people always ask me about my age, but I really feel great. Obviously I’m very passionate about this game, and that’s the biggest to me, I love this game, I love coming to the rink and putting in the work. I love my teammates, so I still have that itch. That’s what I love.”

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.