What the DeSmith Extension Means

Casey DeSmith’s three year contract was a no-brainer for the 27 year old netminder.

Maybe DeSmith could have got a few hundred thousand more on the open market, but for a player who has never been on a one-way contract, the security of a one-way contract for three seasons is significant.

For the Penguins, there’s little risk with this extension and the three year commitment shows they are sold on DeSmith being a high-level backup caliber goaltender moving forward.

“Since joining the Penguins’ organization, Casey has excelled for us at every level, first in Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and now here in Pittsburgh,” GM Jim Rutherford said Friday in a released statement. “We’re pleased to have him signed with our organization for the next three-and-a-half seasons.”

A must in the remaining Cup window during the Sidney Crosby era is try to have the least amount of money tied up in your goaltending, especially with a new contract looming for Matt Murray after next season.

–Tristan Jarry’s Future in PIT?–

The thought had been that Pittsburgh’s goaltending tandem would eventually turn into Matt Murray – Tristan Jarry by next season, especially with Jarry’s contract becoming a one-way deal next season and being waiver eligible.

DeSmith’s level of play this season and now the extension changes that thought process.

Even with the DeSmith extension, the Penguins could still take the stance –we’ll let things play out–, but the greatest asset Jarry could be to the Penguins was always going to be if an opposing team saw him as a potential No. 1 goaltender, therefore, carried that type of trade value.

There were rumblings in the summer that Carolina did indeed see Jarry as a No. 1, while the Islanders and Oilers poked around, but there’s a lot less of that No. 1 caliber talk now among evaluators surrounding Jarry.

In fact, pretty much zero talk of it right now.

Jarry, though, still carries some value as a young No. 2 caliber who has shown flashes where he’d bring something back for the Penguins, just nothing significant.

Still, with Matt Murray’s injury history, don’t rule out the Penguins slow playing things into next season with three goaltenders on 1-way contracts.

Would be uncomfortable because there’s not enough pucks to go around in practice, but it’s still feasible they could carry 13-7-3 for a little while next season to delay a decision.

The Penguins internally are committed to DeSmith being the backup for the foreseeable future and obviously into next season with the extension, but no one is ready to totally write off Jarry just yet playing his way back into the picture.

Penguins 3rd Line Center Search taking them to Ottawa Again?

If the Penguins were to decide to move on from the Derick Brassard or bring in another third line caliber center, they want a player who will add more quickness on the attack through the neutral zone and can eat minutes on the penalty kill.

That’s taken the Penguins back to the Ottawa Senators for a player who checks those boxes.

League sources say the Penguins have been checking on Senators center To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!