Added to a long list of priorities for the Pittsburgh Penguins will be their goaltending situation.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be attributed to many different factors, and goaltending was certainly included among the issues.
Having third-string goaltender Louis Domingue play the majority of the minutes in the postseason is not ideal, to say the least, but the Penguins still managed to push the New York Rangers to seven games. Needless to say, goaltending will be high on the list of off-season priorities for Pittsburgh.
Last off-season, questions surrounding starting netminder Tristan Jarry’s status with the team were quickly shut down by Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, who backed his franchise goaltender. Jarry responded with an All-Star regular season where he finished with a 34-18-6 record and a .919 save percentage.
Jarry’s return to his 2019 form was a welcomed sign for a Penguins team struggling to find consistency in their lineup. Jarry is undoubtedly the starter heading into next season and will be heading into the final year of his current deal. The Penguins may look to extend Jarry before next season but could have it low on their list of priorities with so many other important free agent decisions to make.
Who will be backstopping Jarry when next season begins?
Both Casey DeSmith and Louis Domingue are unrestricted free agents this summer and neither made themselves irreplaceable with their performance this season. Domingue played in just two regular-season games for the Penguins this season but carried the brunt of the load in the playoffs.
Despite getting the Penguins to a 3-1 series lead, Domingue’s performance was unimpressive as he finished the postseason with a .898 save percentage and his final memory will be allowing a last-minute goal to Chris Kreider in Game 6.
Domingue is a solid depth piece as he will also be a cheap option for the Penguins.
Domingue played on a one-year contract worth league minimum ($750k) this past season and is in line to make a similar amount next year. He's terrific in case of an emergency for the Penguins, but even if they bring him back they will need another goalie to back up Jarry.
Casey Desmith’s year can best be described as a tale of two seasons. He struggled early on in the season, allowing 17 goals in his first four games and losing all four of them.
DeSmith’s issues forced the Penguins to overuse Tristan Jarry early in the season and opened up the door for criticism of Hextall for not adding a better backup goaltender before the season.
From Dec. 6th throughout the rest of the season, DeSmith turned his game around, going 11-3-4 and posting a .924 save percentage with a 2.23 goals allowed average. DeSmith played well in Game 1 of the series against the Ranger before leaving with a core muscle injury.
DeSmith could return to the backup role for the Penguins next season, but the Penguins should not offer him any more than the $1.25 million that he made on his previous contract.
The last thing the Penguins would want is to run into the same issue next season where Tristan Jarry is overloaded halfway through the season, so they could look outside of the organization for help on the back end. Some rumors have surfaced that former franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury could return to Pittsburgh to play one last season for the team that drafted him first overall back in 2003.
Fleury's return would come five seasons after departing in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft.
Other higher-end options in free agency are Braden Holtby and Jaroslav Halak, two goalies that were rumored to be potential targets at this season's trade deadline. Neither were traded before the deadline but will be solid tandem options for many teams this offseason.
While the spotlight is on the Penguins stars, the goaltending situation will also be a pivotal storyline to watch this summer.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins