Nashville Predators: Free Agents Who Shouldn’t Be Back Next Season
By Chad Minton
David Rittich, 2022 UFA
2021 Cap Hit: $1.25M
Look, I feel for David Rittich and how he went out in Game 1 of the Nashville Predators first round disaster against the Colorado Avalanche.
It was like a literal avalanche came crashing down on that team, and he was in the spotlight to get all of the blame filling in for injured Vezina Finalist Juuse Saros.
We all have really bad days at the office, and Rittich had his in front of thousands of screaming fans that want you to fail on the road.
All of this is to say that Rittich was nothing more than a placeholder after Pekka Rinne announced his retirement last offseason. The plan was always to eventually call Connor Ingram up as primary backup to Saros.
After seeing Ingram’s incredible performances, particularly in Game 2, it’s abundantly clear that Rittich isn’t coming back. He should absolutely get another shot at backup for another team, and hopefully he can work his way back up to getting starting opportunities.
Not a great time for him in Nashville for one season, but the guy is a class act and all-around great locker room presence. Another team should sign him pretty quick on the open market.