Good-guy goalie Rittich reverses a fan's frown

David Rittich is now wearing blue.

He wanted to be sure that Oliver Plewright wasn't feeling blue.

Oliver, a four-year-old fan of the Calgary Flames, was devastated when he learned that one of his favourites had been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

His father, Brady, broke that news to his son, then posted the reaction on social media.

Rittich's wife, Nikola, happened to see the video and `Big Save Dave,' anxious to reverse that frown, was eager to arrange a Facetime conversation with the youngster. Oliver would soon be trending again, this time with a priceless grin on his face thanks to a very classy gesture by the good-guy goalie.

“(Rittich) said he had to reach out to us, just to talk to us and apologize to Oliver for leaving the Flames,” Brady said. “He explained to him that's the hockey business, and Oliver kind of understands that.

“They talked about the Oilers, because my son doesn't like the Oilers. David was like, `Yeah, I don't like the Oilers, either.' They had some good conversations. It's funny because my son is only four, so he loses interest real quick. So after 15-20 minutes, he was like, `I'm out.' But David wanted to keep talking. That's how good of a guy he is. He was asking him what he is learning in preschool, what he is interested in …

“It wasn't just five minutes and it's done. He wanted to take the time to actually talk to my son, and that's what I appreciate.”

Hours before connecting with Oliver, the 28-year-old Rittich was asked how he wants to be remembered by fans in Calgary.

He arrived as an unknown, signed out of the pro league in the Czech Republic. He emerged as a crowd-pleaser, a fiery competitor who earned the nickname `Big Save Dave.'

“I hope in a good way,” Rittich replied. “I hope they're going to remember me as a positive guy, with a smile on the face, and a guy who always worked hard and gave 100 per cent of what he had to the team. I hope the people are going to remember me like that.

“I came from nowhere and made it to the NHL,” he continued. “Every single day I was part of Flames organization, that was a privilege for me. I didn't care about the name on my back. I did care about that logo on the front.”

His logo changed Sunday, the eve of the NHL'S trade deadline.

With an expiring contract and with the Flames making a bigbucks commitment to Jacob Markstrom to be their starter, Rittich wasn't long for Calgary.

The Maple Leafs, looking for insurance with Frederik Andersen on injured reserve, offered a thirdround pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to bring him aboard.

“I saw a lot of discussion about me and I kind of knew something was maybe going to happen from my agent, so I was kind of prepared,” said Rittich, who posted a 63-39-15 record in his five campaigns in Cowtown and was an all-star in 2020. “But you can say you're prepared, but you're actually not. Especially for me. I mean, Flames were my first organization in North America. They found me in Czech League. They gave me an opportunity to play in NHL, to be an NHL player. So it was obviously hard to leave. The day when the trade happened, it was a tough one. But on the other side, I was super excited to join the Leafs.

“I feel like it's no bigger deal than the Maple Leafs in Canada, so it's great. And the team has a big chance to do something special.”

At four, Oliver might not realize that this isn't a common occurrence when your favourite player is traded.

Rittich also promised to send a Maple Leafs jersey, so the hockey card-collecting kid — understandably excited about all the attention this has garnered — might be converting to blue, too.

“I think he has a fan for life in my son,” Brady said.