First-rate second stringer: Casey DeSmith upgrades Canucks backup goaltending
DeSmith says: "“I’m perfectly fine with my job. I take a lot of pride when I’m handed the baton. I take pride in that one game."
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Thanks to Casey DeSmith, the Vancouver Canucks are looking less and less like a backup goalie graveyard.
Brian Burke introduced that phraseology to the Canucks lexicon when he was the club’s general manager in February 2001. He had just traded slumping starter Felix Potvin to the Los Angeles Kings and explained that, “I’ve never seen a city in the NHL where people love goalies more than they do here. If you look at the goalies in the past, if they play well, they are gods. But this might be a goalie graveyard when you start struggling.”
It’s the second stringers who have had the issues with the Canucks in recent memory.
In the past five full seasons — leave out the two campaigns affected by the COVID pandemic — Vancouver’s main backup netminders have averaged seven wins a year. By contrast, the five Stanley Cup champions over that same period have averaged 17 wins from their No. 2 goalies during those regular seasons.
That brings us to DeSmith, who has come off as every bit the capable understudy to Thatcher Demko in the Vancouver cage so far this season. He has fashioned a 6-3-2 record, a 2.49 goals against average, and a .917 save percentage going into action on Tuesday. Demko carried a 17-7-1 mark, with a 2.46 goals against average and a .917 save percentage into the visit from the Ottawa Senators.
You can argue that DeSmith is a product of an improved Vancouver team. You can also argue that his efforts are part of why the squad is better.
He is yet another Pittsburgh Penguins alum, coming to Vancouver just before the season after a brief pit stop with the Montreal Canadiens. He had stints as a starter in his five years in Pittsburgh, but largely filled the backup role.
DeSmith understands the ask here. He understands that he could make 45 saves in a 1-0 win in his next game and not get another start for another couple of weeks.
“I have a job to do. My job is to get that 45-save shutout and get that win for the team, and then support Demmer and the team the next game I don’t play,” said DeSmith, who is part that group that has followed team president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrick Alvin here from the Penguins. “I’m perfectly fine with my job. I take a lot of pride when I’m handed the baton. I take pride in that one game.
“The challenge for me is that having that mindset can lead to pressure. I know that I’m going to get one game a week or every couple of weeks. I really want to be there for the team when I get the chance.”
DeSmith, 32, played collegiately with the New Hampshire Wildcats. Their Hockey East league rivals include the Boston College Eagles, who count Demko, 28, as an alum. One of Demko’s first wins as a freshman with Boston College came on Dec. 7, 2013 in New Hampshire, as he made 28 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Wildcats, who got a 17-stop outing that night from DeSmith.
“I knew the role I was stepping into here,” said the 6-foot, 180-pound DeSmith, who is a Rochester, N.H., native. “I was happy to do it.
“I respect Demmer a lot as a goalie. I always thought he was one of the top goalies in the league.
“He pushes me to be better. It’s inspiring to watch him play, especially with the success he’s had so far this year. He’s a fun guy to root for. He works really, really hard on and off ice.”
Jamie McLennan is a TSN analyst now, but he was a benchmark backup. He seconded Roberto Luongo with the Florida Panthers in 2005-06 when Luongo played 75 games. He was the No. 2 man with the Calgary Flames the following year when Miikka Kiprusoff got in 74 games.
He believes mindset is paramount in the role.
“Everybody in the NHL was a star in junior or in college. Then the league sorts you out,” said McLennan, 52, an 11-year NHL veteran who was the second goalie picked in the 1991 NHL Draft, going in the third round to the New York Islanders.
“Once that happens, it’s how you handle it with self evaluation. If I’m a guy who thinks I’m a first-line player but I’m really a fourth-line talent, then I’m likely going to be disruptive and I won’t be in the league very long. You need a realistic view of self.
“Once it became clear I was going to be a backup, instead of pouting I decided that I was going to work to be one of the best backups. I was going to be reliable and also good in the room. You have to be a good teammate. You have do what you can to help, like being good on pre-scouts. You have to be more than a guy who sits on the bench wearing a ball cap 10 out every 12 games.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to push for more, but you also have to have realistic expectations and an ability to read the room.”
The Penguins dealt DeSmith to the Canadiens on Aug. 8 as part of the three-way deal with the San Jose Sharks that brought defenceman Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh. From Montreal, DeSmith was immediately moved to Vancouver on Sept. 19 in exchange for winger Tanner Pearson and a 2025 NHL Draft third-round pick.
DeSmith is a pending unrestricted free agent, wrapping up a two-year deal with a cap hit of $1.8 million. He was 58-44-15, with a 2.81 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in his career with Pittsburgh. He had his busiest year last season and his numbers took a hit, as he had a 3.17 goals against average and a .905 save percentage to go with a 15-16-4 record.
Due to injuries with Demko, Vancouver had to rely heavily on other goalies last season. Spencer Martin wound up 11-15-1, with a 3.99 goals against average and a .871 save percentage. In 2021-22, Jaroslav Halak was Demko’s main backup and he finished 4-7-2, with a 2.94 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.
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