David Rittich, Steve Santini sign one-year deals with Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings have signed goaltender David Rittich and defenseman Steve Santini to $875,000 and $800,000 one-year deals, respectively.

Rittich, who once was a starting goalie for the Calgary Flames, has served as a backup over the past three years. He had a 9-8-1 record as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup a year ago, registering a .901 save percentage. It was a slight bump from his difficult season in Nashville the year prior, where he went 6-3-4 with a .886 save percentage. Rittich represented the Flames at the 2020 NHL all-star game with a 24-17-6 record. The previous year, he had a huge season with a 27-9-5 record, making him one of the better young goalies in the league.

Santini, 28, joins the Kings after playing four games with the St. Louis Blues last year. He had 10 points in 64 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, his second season with the team. The veteran blueliner has 123 games of NHL experience and 239 games in the AHL, so he’s a known quantity at this point.

The Kings made a handful of signings on Saturday, including goaltender Cam Talbot on a one-year, $1 million deal. The Kings have three goalies signed for $3.375 million, with the team sitting at a minus-$1.571 million cap hit.