David Rittich

David Rittich Jr. (born 19 August 1992) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Big Save Dave", he has previously played for the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders. Rittich was an NHL All-Star in 2020 and has represented his native Czech Republic internationally.

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, by the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Rittich made his NHL debut against the San Jose Sharks in the third period of the Flames' final regular season game of the year. He made nine saves on 10 shots after replacing Brian Elliott in the third period to finish the game with a 3–2 loss. Rittich recorded his first NHL win in the 2017–18 season on 25 November 2017, in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. 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. 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. 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. In July 2019 the Flames re-signed David Rittich to a two-year contract. 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 Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, and the first since Yves Bélanger accomplished the feat on 31 December 1977, when the franchise was located in Atlanta. It was Rittich's fourth career shutout.

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 third-round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft. He made four 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 by the Nashville Predators on 28 July 2021.

Following a lone season with the Predators, Rittich left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $900,000 contract by the Winnipeg Jets on 13 July 2022. Serving as the backup to Jets starting goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, Rittich made 21 appearances in the 2022–23 season collecting nine wins.

At the conclusion of his contract with the Jets, Rittich signed a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Los Angeles Kings on 1 July 2023. On 15 May 2024, he was signed to a one-year contract extension by the Kings.

On 1 July 2025, Rittich signed a one-year contract with the New York Islanders for the 2025–26 season. As a backup goalie for the Islanders, he made 30 appearances, starting 28 and posting a 14-10-3 record, a 2.76 goals-against average, and a .894 save percentage, with two shutouts.

As a free agent after his lone season with the Islanders, Rittich was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the New Jersey Devils for the season on 3 July 2026.

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 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Nashville Predators NHL 17 6 3 4 823 49 0 3.57 .886 1 0 1 15 5 0 19.91 .615 2022–23 Winnipeg Jets NHL 21 9 8 1 1,122 50 0 2.67 .901 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Ontario Reign AHL 16 7 6 3 914 40 3 2.63 .901 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Los Angeles Kings NHL 24 13 6 3 1,365 49 3 2.15 .921 2 0 2 117 5 0 2.56 .872 2024–25 Los Angeles Kings NHL 34 16 14 2 1,860 87 0 2.81 .887 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 New York Islanders NHL 30 14 10 3 1,651 76 2 2.76 .894 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 260 122 81 29 14,110 654 9 2.79 .903 4 0 4 149 13 0 5.24 .787

International Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2018 Czech Republic WC 7th 3 2 1 0 182 6 1 1.98 .900 Senior totals 3 2 1 0 182 6 1 1.98 .900

Awards and honours Award Year RefNHL NHL All-Star Game 2020