Performance Evaluation: It’s hard to imagine a better debut with a team for a backup goaltender than what DeSmith accomplished in his first season with Dallas. After two-plus seasons of Scott Wedgewood serving as backup to Jake Oettinger, the Stars looked elsewhere in the 2024 free agency market and brought in the veteran. DeSmith, an undrafted goalie, didn’t make his NHL debut until age 26 in the 2017-18 season and spent the first eight seasons of his professional career in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. And after a one-year stint backing up Thatcher Demko in Vancouver, DeSmith landed in Dallas on a three-year deal that both offered the goalie stability and came with a team-friendly cap hit of $1 million. He got out to a bit of an up-and-down start in Victory Green, posting a 25-save shutout against Seattle in his debut but following it up with losses in four of his next five starts. A lopsided 6-2 loss to a struggling Chicago Blackhawks team the night before Thanksgiving seemed to serve as a rock bottom for both DeSmith and the Stars and helped reshape a lot of tangents. From December 1 to the end of the regular season, DeSmith went 12-4-2 with a .921 save percentage and 2.52 GAA. The save percentage was good enough for fifth in the NHL over the span (min. 20 games). Nestled within the run was an 8-0-1 stretch in which DeSmith allowed two or fewer goals in six games. He was downright brilliant in two December starts at Utah, stopping a combined 60 of 63 shots, and blanked St. Louis with a 33-save shutout in January on the second night of a back-to-back. His most impressive showing, however, came in Calgary on March 27 when he stopped 46 of 48 shots (.958 save pct.) to help the Stars secure a win in a game where they were outshot by 29. Those showings helped build a level of confidence that led the Stars to play DeSmith in nine of the final 22 games of the regular season, buying Oettinger valuable rest before the playoffs.
