David Rittich

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David Rittich
Born (1992-08-19) 19 August 1992 (age 29)
Jihlava, Czechoslovakia[1]
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Nashville Predators
BK Mladá Boleslav
Calgary Flames
Toronto Maple Leafs
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

David Rittich Jr. (born 19 August 1992)[2] is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. Rittich was an NHL All-Star in 2020 and has represented his native Czech Republic internationally. He is nicknamed "Big Save Dave" by fans.

Playing career[]

Rittich made his Czech Extraliga debut with BK Mladá Boleslav during the 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season. After two successful performances in the ELH, Rittich was signed to a one-year, two-way contract on 10 June 2016, with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).[3]

Rittich made his NHL debut against the San Jose Sharks in the third period of the Flames' final regular season game of the year.[4] He made 9 saves on 10 shots after replacing Brian Elliott in the third period to finish the game with a 3–2 loss.[5]

Rittich recorded his first NHL win in the 2017–18 season on 25 November 2017 in a game against the Colorado Avalanche.[6] In December 2017, the Flames traded their backup goaltender Eddie Läck away, making Rittich a full-time NHL goaltender for the first time as the backup to Mike Smith.[7] In his first season with the club, Rittich finished with an 8–6–3 record.

On 26 July 2018, the Flames re-signed Rittich to a one-year, $800,000 contract extension.[8]

On 10 November 2018, Rittich earned his first shutout in the NHL against the Los Angeles Kings in a 1–0 win with the only goal scored by Travis Hamonic.[9]

In July 2019 the Flames re-signed David Rittich to a two year contract with an annual value of $2,750,000.[10]

In the shortened 2020–21 season, on 22 February 2021, Rittich turned aside 34 shots to become the third goaltender in Flames' history to shutout the Maple Leafs in Toronto, and the first since Yves Belanger accomplished the feat on 31 December 1977, when the franchise was located in Atlanta.[11][12] It was Rittich's fourth career clean sheet.[13] In the final year of his contract, Rittich was traded by the Flames at the NHL deadline on 11 April 2021, to the Toronto Maple Leafs as goaltending depth in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft.[14] He made 4 regular season appearances with the Maple Leafs, posting a 1–1–1 record, but was a healthy scratch during the playoffs.

As a free agent, Rittich was signed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Nashville Predators on 28 July 2021.[15]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2014–15 BK Mladá Boleslav ELH 23 8 15 0 1,218 64 0 3.15 .891 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 BK Mladá Boleslav ELH 48 26 22 0 2,849 120 5 2.53 .917 10 4 6 638 34 1 3.20 .903
2016–17 Stockton Heat AHL 31 15 11 1 1,774 67 5 2.27 .924 4 2 1 167 8 0 2.88 .917
2016–17 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .900 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Stockton Heat AHL 12 7 5 0 697 37 2 3.18 .889 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Calgary Flames NHL 21 8 6 3 1,009 49 0 2.92 .904 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Calgary Flames NHL 45 27 9 5 2,503 109 1 2.61 .911 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Calgary Flames NHL 48 24 17 6 2,792 138 2 2.97 .907 1 0 1 17 3 0 10.85 .667
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 15 4 7 1 746 36 1 2.90 .904 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4 1 1 1 221 10 0 2.72 .888 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 134 64 40 16 7,289 343 4 2.82 .907 1 0 1 17 3 0 10.85 .667

References[]

  1. ^ "#33 David Rittich" (in Czech). Bkboleslav.cz. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (20 November 2018). "'Big Save Dave' Rittich proving he can handle workload for Flames". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Flames sign goaltender David Rittich". Calgary Flames. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  4. ^ Vickers, Aaron (9 April 2017). "FLAMES REWIND - 09.04.17". NHL.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  5. ^ Gilmore, Eric (9 April 2017). "Sharks win, will finish third in Pacific". NHL.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018. David Rittich, who was called up from Stockton of the American Hockey League and made nine saves in his NHL debut.
  6. ^ Yanover, Ari (25 November 2017). "Czech mate: Rittich leads Flames to victory". Calgary Flames. NHL. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Devils acquire goaltender Eddie Lack from Flames". NHL.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  8. ^ Gilbertson, Wes. "Flames re-sign goaltender David Rittich, avoiding arbitration". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  9. ^ Greenspan, Dan (11 November 2018). "Flames edge Kings as David Rittich records 1st career shutout". cbc.ca. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Flames sign netminder Rittich to two-year contract". Calgary Sun. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Dave (23 February 2021). "Matthews streak ends, Flames shut out Maple Leafs: Forward held without point for first time in 17 games; Rittich makes 34 saves for Calgary". NHL.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Wasney, Jayden (23 February 2021). "Flames' Rittich Perfect in Win Against League-Leading Maple Leafs". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Field Level Media (23 February 2021). "David Rittich gets 4th career shutout as Flames beat Leafs". Reuters. Retrieved 2 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Maple Leafs Acquire David Rittich From Calgary". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Predators sign David Rittich to a one-year contract". Nashville Predators. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.

External links[]

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