David Rittich Jr. (born 19 August 1992) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He has previously played for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. Rittich was an NHL All-Star in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and has represented his native Czech Republic internationally. He is nicknamed "Big Save Dave" by fans.

Playing career

Rittich made his

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The le ...

debut with BK Mladá Boleslav during the

2014–15 Czech Extraliga season The 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season is the 22nd season of the Czech Extraliga since its creation after the breakup of Czechoslovakia and the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League in 1993. Regular season Scoring leaders List shows the ten b ...

. After two successful performances in the ELH, Rittich was signed to a one-year, two-way contract on 10 June 2016, with the

of the

(NHL). Rittich made his NHL debut against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in the third period of the Flames' final regular season game of the year. He made 9 saves on 10 shots after replacing

Brian Elliott Brian Elliott (born April 9, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the ninth round, 291st overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry ...

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 The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. 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 The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

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 with an annual value of $2,750,000. In the shortened season, on 22 February 2021, Rittich turned aside 34 shots to become the third goaltender in Flames' history to shutout the

Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in Toronto, and the first since Yves Belanger accomplished the feat on 31 December 1977, when the franchise was located in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. It was Rittich's fourth career clean sheet. In the final year of his contract, Rittich was traded by the Flames at the NHL deadline on 11 April 2021, to the

as goaltending depth in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft. 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. Following a lone season with the Predators, Rittich left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 13, 2022.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rittich, David 1992 births Living people BK Mladá Boleslav players Calgary Flames players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey goaltenders HC Dukla Jihlava players National Hockey League All-Stars Sportspeople from Jihlava Stockton Heat players Toronto Maple Leafs players Undrafted National Hockey League players Winnipeg Jets players