While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.
Player: Casey DeSmith
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Age: 28
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 181 pounds
2019-20 AHL statistics: 41 games, 18-18-2 record, 2.92 goals-against average, .905 save percentage, two shutouts
Contract: First year of a three-year contract with a salary-cap hit of $1.25 million. Pending restricted free agent in 2022. (Note: Given DeSmith is signed to a one-way contract and is assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he still counts $175,000 against the salary cap.)
Acquired: Undrafted free-agent signing, July 1, 2015
This season: DeSmith entered the 2019 training camp in an open competition with Tristan Jarry to hang onto the backup job he claimed in 2018-19.
He didn’t so much lose that competition as much as his seven-figure salary forced management — in the face of a salary cap crunch — to assign him to their AHL affiliate despite the potential of losing him through waivers.
As Jarry has fulfilled his immense potential with a breakout season, DeSmith has battled through the 2019-20 campaign with a below-average team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, often facing a barrage of high-danger shots.
Despite having been a professional for five seasons, this is actually DeSmith’s first opportunity to be a team’s No. 1 goaltender since his final NCAA season at New Hampshire in 2013-14.
While he has faced an increased workload, he has shown few signs of fatigue this season. For November, DeSmith was selected as AHL Goaltender of the Month.
DeSmith was briefly recalled in early January to serve as the team’s backup goaltender for a road game against the Montreal Canadiens in a transaction intended to allow Jarry rest up for a home game the next night. But he misplaced his passport and was not able to make the trip.
When he’s in the NHL, DeSmith is one of the league’s smallest goaltenders. In an era when goaltender is the only position where players are getting larger, DeSmith relies on quickness and reflexes to ply his craft. Fundamentally sound under the tutelage of long-time goaltending coach Mike Buckley, DeSmith still has the full trust of management to step in net should the need arise, as was the case often in 2018-19.
The future: In the likely event the AHL season is formally canceled, DeSmith could be one of the Penguins’ top candidates for a recall if the NHL allows teams to use expanded rosters to complete its season.
Beyond 2019-20, the Penguins have an uncertain future with Jarry as well as fellow goaltender Matt Murray, each of whom are pending restricted free agents. Any decision management has to make with those two is complicated by the looming expansion draft in 2021. If one of those two players departs, DeSmith, under contract for two more seasons, could gain an easy promotion.
