Rumor: David Rittich to the Washington Capitals

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and the Athletic, he feels the Washington Capitals will be in the market for a veteran goaltender and sees Calgary Flame David Rittich as the perfect fit.

'Big Save Dave' is in the final season of his contract that sees him being paid $2.75 million. The Capitals lost Henrik Lundqvist before the season even started to heart surgery, Ilya Samsonov has been back and forth on the COVID list and Vitek Vanecek has played himself into the Calder trophy discussion. Regardless, the Caps are looking to upgrade their roster as they are looking to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup.

So far this season the 28-year-old Rittich is 3-5-1 with a 2.93GAA and a .904 save %. The Flames have Jacob Markstrom signed for the foreseeable future so Rittich is likely headed elsewhere in free-agency anyways, so the Flames may as well get something back for him. There's also the insurance aspect of keeping him as well, however last season's playoff performance was embarrassing so perhaps the Flames consider other back up options.

If the deal goes down between the Caps and Flames, expect Calgary to retain roughly half of Rittich's salary meaning the prospect, draft pick or both the Flames receive in return will get a little 'pot sweetener' boost for taking on the money.