Islanders' David Rittich reveals why last season 'wasn't easy' for him
Goalie David Rittich of the Islanders at training camp last week. Credit: Dawn McCormick
David Rittich, chatty and affable, has fit in well with his new teammates in the Islanders’ room as he’ll likely start the season backing up Ilya Sorokin. But the emotions from last season still are raw for the veteran Czech goalie.
“It wasn’t the greatest season, that’s for sure,” the former Kings goalie told Newsday after stopping 13 of 14 shots in the Islanders’ 3-2, 11-round shootout loss to the Flyers on Sunday night at UBS Arena in the preseason opener. “It was a lot of things happening in my personal life. My granddad passed away in December so that period of time wasn’t easy for me. It took a lot of life out of me. It’s still hard to talk about.”
Rittich, 33, signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Islanders on July 1 after going 16-14-2 with a 2.81 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage for the playoff-qualifying Kings.
Given Semyon Varlamov’s uncertain status coming off knee surgery in December – he is skating on his own but there’s no timetable for him to rejoin his teammates for practice – Rittich will play an important role as the Islanders do not want to overwork Sorokin.
“It did come up in negotiations,” Rittich said of Varlamov’s status, politely declining to elaborate further.
Varlamov, 37, is entering the third season of a four-year, $11 million deal and there have been several starts and stops in his recovery since he last played on Nov. 29. He has expressed confidence in being able to play this season. But new Islanders general manager/executive vice president Mathieu Darche needed a backup plan for Sorokin’s backup when the free-agent market opened.
Rittich has a career record of 108-71-26 with a 2.78 GAA and .904 save percentage. He’s also played for the Flames – who used him as a No. 1 goalie – Maple Leafs, Predators and Jets.
On Sunday, Rittich started and logged 29:21 against the Flyers, allowing a first-period goal to Rodrigo Abols. He struggled with rebound control early, natural in a preseason opener, but made several sharp saves from in tight as the match progressed.
“I thought he made it look easy,” said Islanders coach Patrick Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie. “So that means you’re in a good position. I love his compete. Very vocal out there.”
Rittich said there were other reasons he wanted to join the Islanders other than the chance to work with Sorokin, who finished second in the Vezina Trophy balloting in 2023.
Kings coach Jim Hiller, a former Islanders assistant under Barry Trotz, gave a strong recommendation.
“I’ve heard just great stories about the Islanders,” Rittich said. “There’s a reason why people who are done with hockey and used to play for the Islanders come back to Long Island. I spoke to Jimmy Hiller for a long time about the Islanders.”
Notes & quotes: The Islanders made their first trims to the 61-man training camp roster, returning forwards Luca Romano (Kitchener, OHL), a third-round pick, and Tomas Poletin (Kelowna, WHL), a fourth-round pick, plus sixth-round pick, goalie Burke Hood (Vancouver, WHL), to their respective junior teams.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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