Has anyone else has put up similar numbers at David Rittich's age (26) with only 46 NHL games played.
Miikka Kiprusoff turned 26 early in the 2002-03 season. At the end of that season, he had 47 NHL games played with 34 starts (2,390:20 total minutes played). He had an overall record of 14-21-3 with a .897 SV% and 2.84 GAA, with 3 shutouts. The following season, he was traded to the Flames.
David Rittich turned 26 just prior to the start of this season. Tonight will be his 47th NHL game played and 38th career start (2,320:09 total minutes played prior to tonight). He has an overall record of 22-10-6, with a .914 SV% and 2.61 GAA, with one shutout.
The league is higher-scoring now than it was in the early part of Kipper's career.
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After being on the Hillar, Elliott, Ramo, Berra, Ortio, and Johnson train I think it's way too early to look at anything more than the game in front of us when evaluating a goalie on a good stretch.
Would love to get Capitals top prospect goalie Ilya Samsonov but no way they get rid of him
Also would like Calgary to draft a real good WHL goalie and bring him along. Carey Price, Martin Jones and Carter Hart are all good examples of a WHL goalie. I know Calgary didn't have luck with our last 2 real high draft pick goalies from WHL. Brent Krahn and the guy from Everest Silvertips his name escapes me ATM I think we drafted him in 1st round or 2nd round
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Last edited by TheOnlyBilko; 01-07-2019 at 08:37 PM.
Reason: autocorrect I'd dumb
I’ve been on the “sign him to a long term deal” train for a while. Treliving needs to think about signing him soon before he goes on a long run in the playoffs or gets some Vezina votes because the team doesn’t have a lot of cap space this summer.
Tkachuk will be expensive, so finding a cheaper 3 or 4 year deal for Rittich will help the cap situation going forward.
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I’ve been on the “sign him to a long term deal” train for a while. Treliving needs to think about signing him soon before he goes on a long run in the playoffs or gets some Vezina votes because the team doesn’t have a lot of cap space this summer.
Tkachuk will be expensive, so finding a cheaper 3 or 4 year deal for Rittich will help the cap situation going forward.
Sign him long term for cheap if he's willing to accept the salary of a high priced backup. We would need to see a lot more before committing a legit starting goaltender contract on term. Take a look at Hellebuyck. He's not been Mike Smith terrible but he's playing below league average and the Jets have $37 million tied up in him.
Best to let this season play out and see how it ends before making any decisions on him IMO.
Yes, Rittich is going to be our future #1 if he signs a new contract this summer. His play has been elite and the players seem to love him. He’s one of the few goalies I watch and am unconcerned when he routinely lets 1 softie in per game because otherwise he’s amazing & clutch.
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The thing with Rittich in my mind is that he's still on an upwards trajectory. He was side by side with Gillies on the Heat for a bit, but when they had almost equal opportunity in the NHL, Rittich took the ball and ran away with it, and he just keeps on developing. What we see today is not the finished product. Look at the way he's been working hard on his puck handling for example. He just decided to get good at it, and he's already come a long way. That personality trait gives me great hope for Rittich as the future starter on this team. Let's see him do well in the playoffs.
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If he continues doing what hes doing im fine with just signing a decent platoon guy to a short term deal this off season instead of paying big money and term to a starter like Bob or Varlamov.
Hard to say if he is the long term solution, but I am 100% convinced that we need some insurance in the short term. We need a solid tandem to take advantage of this season.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Sign him long term for cheap if he's willing to accept the salary of a high priced backup. We would need to see a lot more before committing a legit starting goaltender contract on term. Take a look at Hellebuyck. He's not been Mike Smith terrible but he's playing below league average and the Jets have $37 million tied up in him.
Best to let this season play out and see how it ends before making any decisions on him IMO.
That’s exactly the contract I’d like to stay away from. The Jets let Hellebuyck go from a likely cheap back up to a Vezina nominee. They didn’t get to him early enough. That’s the hope for Treliving, he’s gotta get Rittich signed early or else what happens if Rittich gets a top 3 Vezina finish and a long playoff run? It’s going to be another Hellebuyck contract that the Flames absolutely cannot afford.
I'll hang on until the completion of the season to come to a conclusion. Honestly Rittich has been great despite my personal steadfast belief that the Flames goaltending is hopeless. Not just Smith, all of it. The entire sum of its parts.
IF....IF Rittich can sustain this through a playoff run then I'll probably say yes? Even then I'm so doubtful of any long term solution within the system that I'd still be on the no side.
I would just hate for this to be a Jim Carey season and then we get another goalie egg in the face.
Sign him long term for cheap if he's willing to accept the salary of a high priced backup. We would need to see a lot more before committing a legit starting goaltender contract on term. Take a look at Hellebuyck. He's not been Mike Smith terrible but he's playing below league average and the Jets have $37 million tied up in him.
Best to let this season play out and see how it ends before making any decisions on him IMO.
I agree. I remember Turek playing just lights out and the Flames figured they needed to extend him on a longish and expensive contract. Then he sputtered (I think he struggled under expectations, not because he coasted).
Rittich even after this season will have one year of good play. Lots of goalies have done that and not recreated it. Heck, look at Smith in 11-12. Look at Murray after his hot start in late 2016 and then the next season. He's pretty ordinary now.
I agree. I remember Turek playing just lights out and the Flames figured they needed to extend him on a longish and expensive contract. Then he sputtered (I think he struggled under expectations, not because he coasted).
Rittich even after this season will have one year of good play. Lots of goalies have done that and not recreated it. Heck, look at Smith in 11-12. Look at Murray after his hot start in late 2016 and then the next season. He's pretty ordinary now.
While I agree with your statement (we absolutely have to take a wait and see approach, Rittich is playing well, but this is way too soon to sign him for starter money long term), it’s worth noting that Murray has been in god-mode since returning.
I agree. I remember Turek playing just lights out and the Flames figured they needed to extend him on a longish and expensive contract. Then he sputtered (I think he struggled under expectations, not because he coasted).
Rittich even after this season will have one year of good play. Lots of goalies have done that and not recreated it. Heck, look at Smith in 11-12. Look at Murray after his hot start in late 2016 and then the next season. He's pretty ordinary now.
But therein lies the question, do you sign Rittich early and get him cheaper now, or wait till he potentially gets Vezina votes and a playoff series win and then try to sign him while he has all the leverage? There’s certainly a level of risk/reward by signing him early, but the Flames will be in a cap crunch when Tkachuk and Bennett are signed, so getting Rittich to a good deal now could help alleviate that crunch.
To me, everything about signing Rittich early is to help avoid those Turek and Hellebuyck like contracts because the way he’s going right now, he might ask for Hellebuyck like money and we might not have a choice if his current trend continues.
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