Stars sign Casey DeSmith to three-year, $3 million contract

The Dallas Stars have shored up their goaltending for the 2024-25 season.

The club signed netminder Casey DeSmith to a three-year, $3 million contract, according to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli.

DeSmith will backup Stars’ No. 1 goalie Jake Oettinger.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old goalie played 29 regular-season games with the Vancouver Canucks last season, going 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and a .895 SV%. DeSmith also appeared in two playoff games for the Canucks when Thatcher Demko was injured, going 1-1-0 and allowing four goals.

In six NHL seasons, DeSmith has a 70-53-21 record, a 2.82 GAA, a .909 SV% in 163 regular-season appearances with the Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Undrafted, DeSmith signed with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers ahead of the 2015-16 season, later being loaned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. His strong performance in the AHL led to him, signing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead of 2016-17, where in two seasons, he went 37-13-2.

After primarily serving as a backup in Pittsburgh for two seasons, DeSmith appeared in 38 games in 2022-23, going 15-16-4 with a .905 SV% and 3.17 GAA. In August 2023, he would be traded to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a three-team trade involving the San Jose Sharks, then would be traded again just one month later to the Canucks in exchange for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.

The Stars went 52-21-9 for 113 points last season, the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the entire league. They would lose in six games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals.

Oettinger, 25, went 35-14-4 with a .905 SV% and 2.72 GAA in 54 appearances.