Islanders sign David Rittich to one-year deal

The New York Islanders announced on Tuesday that general manager Mathieu Darche and the team have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran goalie David Rittich.

The team did not release the details of compensation for the deal in its release.

Rittich spent the past two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, where he excelled as a backup two years ago while struggling mightily last season.

In 2023-2024, Rittich was phenomenal, putting up a 13-6-3 record to go with a .921 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average.

Fast forward a year, and the native of Jihlava, Czechia could not find that same form. In 34 appearances, he went 16-14-2 with a .887 save percentage and a 2.84 GAA.

Rittich spent the first four seasons of his career as a member of the Calgary Flames, and he went on to have single-season stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets before landing with Los Angeles.

For his career, Rittich owns a .904 SV% and 2.79 GAA with 7 shutouts in 230 appearances and 204 starts. While with the Flames in 2019-2020, Rittich was named to the NHL all-star game as an injury replacement.

This move may shed some light on New York’s plan between the pipes behind entrenched starter Ilya Sorokin.

Semyon Varlamov, the team’s primary backup, is 37 years old and made just 10 appearances last season as he dealt with injury issues.

If Varlamov is unable to return next season, Rittich would have every opportunity to serve as the primary backup to Sorokin, who put up a save percentage of .907 in his 61 appearances last season.

The team would likely like to keep that workload lighter on its franchise goalie. In Varlamov’s absence last year, Marcus Hogberg made 15 appearances, though he struggled to the tune of a .878 SV%.