Headlines

  • Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Ivan Provorov As Part Of Three-Team Trade
  • Anaheim Ducks Name Greg Cronin Head Coach
  • Montreal Canadiens Extend Cole Caufield
  • Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach
  • Pittsburgh Penguins Name Kyle Dubas President Of Hockey Operations
  • Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Brad Treliving
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Calgary Flames Re-Sign David Rittich

July 27, 2019 at 8:59 am CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

After a hot start to salary arbitration season with three hearings, things have cooled off of late with a slew of contract resolutions. Add another to the list, as the Calgary Flames and goaltender David Rittich have come to terms on an extension. The team announced that the 26-year-old net minder has signed on for two years at an AAV of $2.75MM. Rittich will be an unrestricted free agent when the deal expires after the 2020-21 season.

The Flames now have their 1A goalie back under contract, as Rittich outplayed veteran Mike Smith last season, earning 42 starts to Smith’s 40. Rittich posted career-high numbers in his second season as a Calgary regular, recording a .911 save percentage and 2.61 GAA. Not only were these numbers a personal best and substantially better than Smith’s, they were also top-20 marks among goalies with appearances in at least half of their team’s games, showing that Rittich could hold his own as the Flames’ top option. Given his age and level of play, albeit in limited appearances, it still seems like Calgary got a good value on this $5.5MM pact.

Still just 26 and without a lot of tread on the tires as timeshare goalie in the Czech pro ranks for many years, Rittich has the potential to continue improving as well. He will certainly be pushed in the upcoming season, as Smith has been replaced by the younger and arguably more talented Cam Talbot. Talbot signed a one-year deal this off-season with a $2.75 AAV that matches Rittich’s. The salaries would suggest an even split in net, but the incumbent Rittich has the advantage in familiarity and longer-term investment and should get the preference early on. If he can again prove that he is the superior option to a respected veteran, Rittich could see even more appearances in 2019-20 than he did last year, and perhaps another career performance as well.

The Rittich deal, although more than fair, does add more pressure to the Flames’ salary cap conundrum. CapFriendly currently projects the team to have $4.67MM in cap space. With Matthew Tkachuk still unsigned, as well as Andrew Mangiapane, that simply won’t be enough. Since Rittich had filed for arbitration, the Flames’ second case after their recent resolution with Sam Bennett, the team will be afforded a second buyout window, a 48-hour opportunity to rid themselves of a large contract that could help them sort out their financials. However, there is no obvious candidate for such a move and the team could instead continue shopping defensemen Travis Hamonic and T.J. Brodie and forward Michael Frolik in hopes of opening up more space.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Arbitration| Calgary Flames Cam Talbot| David Rittich| Mike Smith

Capitals Re-Sign Chandler Stephenson
Main
Michael McCarron Re-Signs With Montreal
View Comments (2)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. pawtucket

    4 years ago

    That is a solid deal. Nice bridge. If he puts up a couple of good seasons than they can sign him long term.
    A little surprised it wasn’t closer to the AAV of Binnington…but that’s what a Stanley cup gets you I suppose.

    Reply
  2. PeeWeeGaskins

    4 years ago

    An obvious candidate to buy out would be Michael Stone.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Ivan Provorov As Part Of Three-Team Trade

    Anaheim Ducks Name Greg Cronin Head Coach

    Montreal Canadiens Extend Cole Caufield

    Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach

    Pittsburgh Penguins Name Kyle Dubas President Of Hockey Operations

    Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Brad Treliving

    Nashville Predators Expected To Fire John Hynes, Hire Andrew Brunette

    Washington Capitals Name Spencer Carbery Head Coach

    Calgary Flames Name Craig Conroy General Manager

    Kyle Dubas Will Not Return As Toronto GM

    Recent

    Devils Notes: Severson, Graves, Haula

    Salary Cap Increase Could Be Larger Than Expected

    Evening Notes: Schenn, Quenneville, Senators

    Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois

    Snapshots: Matthews, Bratt, DeAngelo

    Toronto Maple Leafs Expected To Hire Shane Doan

    Latest On Carter Hart, Kevin Hayes

    Central Notes: Nill, Blackhawks Draft, Blackhawks Cap Floor

    Jani Hakanpää To Undergo Knee Surgery

    Mackenzie Blackwood Not Expected To Receive Qualifying Offer

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version