Devils sign David Rittich to one-year contract

Rittich remains in the Tri-State area, having spent the 2025-26 season with the New York Islanders, also on a one-year, $1 million contract. In backing up Ilya Sorokin, Rittich appeared in 30 games, going 14-10-3, with a 2.76 goals-against average, a .894 save percentage and two shutouts. Despite the solid play of Sorokin and Rittich behind him, the Islanders stumbled late in the season, falling out of the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.

Rittich’s numbers were similar to those from the 2024-25 campaign with the Los Angeles Kings, which was a noticeable drop-off from the year before. In 24 appearances in 2023-24, the Czech netminder went 13-6-3, with a 2.15 GAA, a .921 SV% and three shutouts.

The Devils are the sixth team the 33-year-old has been with since the Calgary Flames traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2021 season. Since then, he has also made stops with the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.

The addition of Rittich certainly makes things interesting for the Devils’ goaltending situation. The team traded Jacob Markstrom back to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, but re-signed Nico Daws to a two-year contract on Wednesday. New Jersey still has Jake Allen in the fold, with some thinking that he would take over as the starting goaltender. Both Daws and Rittich would have to clear waivers if they were to be optioned to the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets.

In 260 regular-season games in the NHL, Rittich has a career record of 122-81-29, with a 2.79 GAA, a .903 SV% and nine shutouts. He’s 0-4 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a 5.24 GAA and a .787 SV%.