How Pekka Rinne soaked in statue unveiling at Bridgestone Arena: 'That thing is massive'

Inside a roped-off area on the corner of Broadway and Rep. John Lewis Way on Saturday morning, a black sheet covering a nearly 12-foot tall, nearly 900-pound statue waved high in the warm wind above the sun-soaked plaza outside Bridgestone Arena.

Black chairs with name placards taped to them reserved seats belonging to people such as Pekka Rinne's parents, Jukka and Helena Rinne, and his two sisters. His wife Erika Parkko, who held their curly-haired, 2-year-old son Paulus.

Former teammates such as Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Kevin Klein and J-P Dumont also showed up to show support for a man described by Nashville Predators general manager David Poile as "the greatest player in franchise history." Former Predators coach and future Predators GM Barry Trotz was there, too, along with Rinne's first goalie coach, Mitch Korn.

A sea of people wearing mostly gold sweaters, mostly with the name "Rinne" and the number 35 on the back, surrounded center stage. The crowd spilled onto Rep. John Lewis Way next to the plaza. Onlookers craned their necks trying to sneak a peak at Rinne and his newly unveiled statue a few hours before the Predators faced the Seattle Kraken.

More fans gathered across the same street, on the rooftop of Teddy's Tavern.

They all were there to see Rinne — the real version and bronzed version of Rinne that now overlooks Broadway. To see the man who spent 15 seasons, 772 games, 414 victories, 44,713 minutes wearing a Nashville Predators uniform, during which time he stopped 19,978 shots.

Rinne's statue is a familiar pose — his right arm raised, goalie stick in hand, an image captured from after Rinne's last game with the Predators on May 10, 2021.

"If we were to build the statue to scale of his impact on the Nashville community, the size of his heart, it would easily be 10 times bigger," Poile said. "All of his individual accomplishments on the ice were dwarfed by his contributions off the ice.

"This statue will serve as a reminder of not just the decorated hockey player but Pekka Rinne the man, one of the greatest men ever to walk the streets."

Predators PA announcer Paul McCann belted out a familiar introduction before Rinne took the stage to a standing ovation.

"Introducing to you, number 35, Pekka Rrrrriiiinnnnne," McCann said as Rinne, dressed in a navy blue suit, made his way toward the spotlight, the crowd serenading him with chants of "Pekka, Pekka, Pekka."

After Predators radio man Pete Weber and team president and CEO Sean Henry took turns talking about him, an overwhelmed Rinne took to the microphone.

"How crazy is this?" Rinne began. "I have a statue."

"Maybe it helps me get into the game in the future," Rinne later joked. "I don't have to ask for tickets. I'm just going to point out the door, 'That's me.'

"It's hard to put into words. It's surreal. That thing is massive."

The man with his number retired and hanging from the rafters inside Bridgestone, the man who holds nearly every goalie record in franchise history, the man who has a goat named after him at the Nashville Zoo became just the sixth goalie in NHL history to have a statue erected in his honor.

Predators Day 1 season-ticket older Scott Wise spent a year making the statue that is sure to stand facing Broadway for many, many years to come.

"I'll be watching you guys going down Broadway," Rinne joked. "I got you."

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Chants of "Thank you, Pekka" filled the air after Rinne, holding his son, helped unveil the statue.

"It's not just representing me," Rinne said. "It's representing my family, the organization, the city of Nashville."

Rinne's former teammate and mentee and longtime friend Juuse Saros said he's long thought Rinne deserved a statue.

"He's the biggest reason the team grew from an expansion team into a real hockey team," Saros said. "He's always been a great example and always made it easy for all the new guys to come in. He was always an example, how he worked, how he treated all the people around him."

"We all want to emulate ourselves after Pekka," Predators forward Colton Sissons said. "He's the ultimate leader."

Rinne walked off the stage to another standing ovation, stopping to wave in every direction as a token of his appreciation. From there he made his way inside the roped-off area to find people such as Josi and Neal and Dupont and Klein. He finally made his way down a path toward the back of the chairs that sat neatly in rows.

There the unofficial king of Nashville locked eyes with the "King of Smashville," super fan Nathaniel Bone. The two exchanged a long bear hug and some hellos before Rinne tried to make his way back inside the arena.

Along the way, like he did countless times during his 15-season career with the Predators, Rinne made himself one with the crowd, signing just about every autograph and taking just about every selfie as his family waited for him inside.

He was, of course, wearing his familiar smile all the way.

A couple of hours later, inside the building in which he helped build hockey in this city, Rinne walked a navy blue carpet before the game, all the way to center ice for a ceremonial puck drop.

As he walked off the ice he raised his right hand one more time to acknowledge the crowd, which by then had broken into another "Pekka, Pekka, Pekka" chant.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Pekka Rinne soaked in statue unveiling at Bridgestone Arena