The Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to terms with backup goaltender Casey DeSmith on a new two-year extension, keeping him from hitting the open market. The contract will carry an average annual value of $1.8M.
DeSmith, 30, has only ever known the Penguins organization and is one of the biggest success stories of the ECHL. Originally signed to a contract by the Wheeling Nailers as an undrafted free agent in 2015, he managed to quickly climb through every level and eventually made his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season. Since then, he’s been quite reliable for Pittsburgh, posting a .916 save percentage over 97 appearances at the highest level.
While he likely won’t challenge for the starting role anytime soon, DeSmith represents a strong backup for Tristan Jarry and the Penguins and essentially takes them out of the running for any other free agent goaltenders – at least the ones set to compete for NHL jobs. At just $1.8M, he also comes in at a very reasonable price, potentially freeing up some space for the team to re-sign more important free agents, including Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Among goaltenders, DeSmith’s cap hit puts him 40th for the 2022-23 season, a ranking that will drop several more places once free agency opens later this month. Given the fact that Jarry carries just a $3.5M hit, the Penguins will be getting pretty strong goaltending for a relatively low price.
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