Photo by Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0
Casey DeSmith
Dallas Stars Goaltender #1
Undrafted, and he out-saved the starter on the same defence.
| Season | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | PIT | 14 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 2.40 | 1 | 356 | .921 |
| 2018-19 | PIT | 36 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 89 | 2.75 | 3 | 1060 | .916 |
| 2020-21 | PIT | 20 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2.54 | 2 | 543 | .912 |
| 2021-22 | PIT | 26 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 66 | 2.79 | 3 | 769 | .914 |
| 2022-23 | PIT | 38 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 109 | 3.17 | 0 | 1142 | .905 |
| 2023-24 | VAN | 29 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 80 | 2.89 | 1 | 759 | .895 |
| 2024-25 | DAL | 27 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 65 | 2.59 | 2 | 761 | .915 |
| 2025-26 | DAL | 30 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 71 | 2.43 | 1 | 760 | .907 |
| 2026-27 so far | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 220 | 99 | 69 | 29 | 556 | 2.74 | 13 | 6150 | .910 |
This Season So Far
The 2026-27 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.
Last Season
30 appearances, 15-8-6, a 2.43 goals-against average and a .9066 save percentage with 1 shutout — 10 thousandths better than Oettinger across the same season and the same defence.
The Physical Game
6 foot even and 188, which is small for the modern position, and he compensates by challenging further out than most and by being economical once he is there.
He is not spectacular. He is rarely out of position, the rebounds go to the corners, and against the low-danger volume this defence concedes that is worth a great deal.
The Mental Game
Undrafted, 220 NHL games, and a career spent as a backup on 5 organisations without ever visibly resenting it. He has been handed heavy stretches and handled them.
Over his last 10 appearances, .891 on 221 shots.
The Intangibles
The comparison is the story and it needs stating plainly, because the standings will not. Behind the fourth-best defensive team in the league, Oettinger stopped .8994 and DeSmith stopped .9066. Oettinger finished the season at .876 across his last 10; DeSmith at .891.
Nobody thinks DeSmith is the better goaltender — Oettinger’s career figure is .9099 against DeSmith’s .9096, over 300 games versus 200 — and that is rather the point. The gap between them last season was noise, and a club with genuine Cup ambitions has a starter who did not have a good year.
He is 34. If the spring goes wrong in net, this page is where it started.
The numbers underneath
Recent form
Last 20 appearances, 2025-26, oldest first
.888
save percentage over his last 8, on 188 shots · .898 across these 20
Each bar is one appearance, taller being a better save percentage. Filled bars are .920 or better.