With a one-season contract valued at $1.8 million, there is no doubt that the former Pittsburgh Penguins' goalie could be an appealing option for a team in search of a number two goalie. After all, in 134 games in the NHL, DeSmith has maintained an impressive efficiency rate of 0.912 and an average of 2.81 goals allowed.
On this note, former organization member Marc Dumont recently provided an intriguing update on this matter, indicating that four NHL general managers are particularly interested in acquiring the 29-year-old goaltender. According to him, the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, and St. Louis Blues are teams to watch.
Boston Bruins
Even though the Bruins possibly have the best goalie duo in the NHL with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, the situation might change in a few weeks. Indeed, numerous speculations suggest that Don Sweeney wants to trade one of his goalies to get a top-line center to compensate for the losses of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. If such a trade were to happen, Casey DeSmith would certainly become a prime target for the Bruins.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Although the Lightning already has Andrei Vasilevskiy, the departure of Brian Elliott could hurt the organization, which could rely on an experienced goalie to back up the 29-year-old Russian. The team signed a contract with former Colorado Avalanche's Jonas Johansson to fill this role. However, despite being 27, he has only played 35 games in the NHL, with an average of 3.32 goals allowed and an efficiency rate of 0.897.
Anaheim Ducks
Over the past few months, numerous rumors have suggested that John Gibson's days in Anaheim might be numbered, as he apparently requested a trade. If the American is indeed traded, Pat Verbeek might be interested in adding Casey DeSmith to his roster. Knowing well that a duo of Lukas Dostal and Alex Stalock might be one of the weakest in the NHL, the Canadiens' newcomer could bring some stability to the goalie position.
St. Louis Blues
There's no doubt that Jordan Binnington will be the starting goalie in 2023-2024. However, losing Thomas Greiss might force the organization to get a new netminder. Joel Hofer was excellent in the six games he played last season, but the 23-year-old only played eight NHL games over the past two seasons. Would the organization prefer to acquire a backup goalie with more experience?
In your opinion, what would be the ideal team for Casey DeSmith?
Credit: Rumeursdetransaction
POLL | ||
In your opinion, what would be the ideal team for Casey DeSmith? | ||
Boston Bruins | 36 | 19.4 % |
Anaheim Ducks | 50 | 26.9 % |
Tamba bay lightning | 44 | 23.7 % |
Saint louis Blues | 56 | 30.1 % |
List of polls |