After signing Rittich, what will the Kings’ goalie crease look like in 2024-25?

The Los Angeles Kings locked up one of their pending unrestricted free agents in the crease by signing David Rittich to a one-year, $1 million contract extension. But now the question is what they do with the other goalie spot on their roster? Do they re-sign Cam Talbot? Do they explore other options? Or with Rittich coming in at a cheap price, do they find a way to do both?

Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed on Daily Faceoff Live what the Kings might do with their goaltending now that Rittich has been extended.

Frank Seravalli: I think they first have to decide who’s coaching their team. That would be a good start. it’s odd how long Jim Hiller has lingered here. Is he the interim? Is he coming back? Is he the permanent guy? Are you conducting a coaching search? What’s the plan?

That said, I still personally think David Rittich is better off as a third goalie than a second. I think for a little bit of this season, he got some help, caught lightning in a bottle, and I think the sample size is large enough to suggest that he’s probably in that bottom third tier of NHL goalies. That’s what he started the season as last year, the third guy, and $1 million can be buried.

I’m not against bringing back Cam Talbot, his numbers actually ended up being fine and he did look like he tired down the stretch but he wasn’t the reason the Edmonton Oilers won in round one. That was because the Kings couldn’t do anything on special teams.

I think they’re best off going out to get a better number one. The question is what are they going to spend and if they’re going to trade for someone, what are they giving up? So in a perfect world I think you have a number one, Talbot and Rittich again, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they went with Rittich and someone else.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Linus Ullmark. Jacob Markstrom. There are names out there. It will be interesting this summer as we head through whatever the hell happens to that Kings roster.

Frank Seravalli: Ullmark was almost a King [at the trade deadline], so you know they’re at least thinking about it.

You can watch the full episode here…