​Just hours after New Jersey Devils GM Sunny Mehta spoke to the media, he got back to work. According to PuckPedia, the team has signed 33-year-old veteran goaltender David Rittich to a one-year, one-way contract worth $1,000,000. Rittich was solid in 30 games for the New York Islanders last season, posting a 2.76 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage. One of his 14 wins came against New Jersey in December when he stopped 31 of 32 shots (.969%). For his career, he’s 6-1-0 in seven games against the Devils, with a .925 save percentage.
Earlier today, Mehta made it clear he’s excited for Nico Daws to get an opportunity, though he didn’t close the door on acquiring another goalie or two. Adding insurance certainly never hurts. Rittich has demonstrated experience, and analytics suggest he still has something left in the tank: his +4.2 goals saved above expected (GSAx), per Moneypuck, ranks 26th among 51 eligible goalies (minimum 30 games). That statistic sits just behind Connor Hellebuyck (+5.5 GSAx), who reached that total in 27 more games. In other words, he did what was needed—not more, not less.
For reference, Jacob Markstrom ranked 43rd among those 51 goalies with -11.9 GSAx. Even if the Devils don’t sign another netminder and instead run a combination of Daws, Rittich, and Jake Allen, they appear to be in a better position than last season. With Markstrom’s contract now off the books, the Devils gain some extra cap room to upgrade elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see how the Devils approach the goalie situation as the season nears. Currently, they’ve already meaningful improved their bottom six and still have $7,627,500 in cap space.