Penguins A to Z: Casey DeSmith was leaned on too often in 2022-23
Share this post:
With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Casey DeSmith
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Age: 31
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 181 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: 38 games, 15-16-4 record, 3.17 goals against average, .905 save percentage, zero shutouts
Contract: In the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.8 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.
Acquired: Undrafted free-agent signing, July 1, 2015
Last season: While the headliners of the Penguins’ 2022 offseason were a handful of future enshrines into the Hockey Hall of Fame, All-Stars or Stanley Cup champions, perhaps the most consequential player former general manager Ron Hextall opted to re-sign was backup goaltender Casey DeSmith.
A few days before the NHL Draft, Hextall quietly retained DeSmith on June 5 and cited a comfort level with him in opting to re-sign him instead of looking in the free agent pool at goaltenders with more experience or even a history as a starter.
“You look at the market, there’s not a lot out there,” Hextall said one day later. “Casey is a pretty good goalie. He’s played pretty well for us. He’s well-liked. He fits in well. It’s a bit of a no-brainer for us.”
There were no wins for DeSmith in his first four outings of the season as he went 0-3-1 during that stretch.
From that point on, a futile pursuit of pulling his record even at .500 unfolded. DeSmith rarely strung too much success or failure together over the course of the season.
Up until the calendar flipped to 2023, DeSmith largely had a workload befitting a backup. Appearing in 12 of the team’s first 36 games of the season, DeSmith offered a 4-6-2 record, a 3.00 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Nothing spectacular but steady.
That all changed Jan. 2 during the NHL’s Winter Classic at Boston’s Fenway Park. Early in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, starter Tristan Jarry suffered a suspected right leg injury and was replaced by DeSmith.
Over the next two months, DeSmith essentially served as the Penguins’ starting goaltender while Jarry was hobbled by various maladies. In January and February, DeSmith appeared in 17 of the team’s 24 games, going 7-6-2 with a 3.48 goals against average and an .898 save percentage while being stationed behind a defense that was pockmarked with injuries as well as limited effectiveness
Perhaps DeSmith’s best game of the season came Feb. 7 when he directed the Penguins to a 2-1 overtime home win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche by making 41 saves on 42 shots.
By March, Jarry was allegedly healthy enough to play and was deployed in net for most of the team’s remaining games as it unsuccessfully pursued a playoff spot. DeSmith took on a more modest portion of games and played some of his best hockey. Over the final six weeks of the season, DeSmith played in nine games and posted a 4-4-0 record, a 2.82 goals against average and .906 save percentage.
DeSmith is scheduled to be a member of the United States’ roster for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship tournament which begins May 12.
The future: DeSmith is signed for another year but some potential changes further up the trough might dictate his status with the Penguins.
Namely, who will be the Penguins’ starting goaltender.
Jarry is a pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason and the Penguins’ next general manager must determine if Jarry is suitable to still be this franchise’s top goaltender. If not, the Penguins could explore what is expected to be, once again, a very lean free agent market for the position or investigate a trade.
If the Penguins do make a change regarding Jarry, moving out DeSmith — potentially in the pursuit of constructing a true platoon — could be very conceivable.
Assuming he is behind a starter who can play upward of 55 or more games a season, DeSmith is a perfectly adequate backup. But Jarry’s health woes have largely deprived him of establishing himself as a workhorse throughout his tenure with the Penguins.
That led to DeSmith, who set a career-high for games, being leaned on far too often for what he is capable of in 2022-23.