A backup goaltender can sound like a secondary concern until he starts 28 games. Casey DeSmith carried that much of the schedule for Dallas last season, and the Stars have decided to keep him.
His new contract is worth $5 million over two years beginning in 2027–28, NHL.com reported Wednesday. The annual average is $2.5 million for a goaltender the team already knows.
DeSmith appeared in 30 games in 2025–26, starting 28. He faced 760 shots and allowed 71 goals in 1,755 minutes, according to the NHL’s official player data. Those totals work out to a .907 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average after rounding.
A sizeable share of the schedule
Twenty-eight starts are far more than emergency cover. They give the second goaltender a meaningful role in how many points a team collects and how it distributes the work in net.
Keeping DeSmith gives Dallas some continuity when making those decisions. Coaches know the player, and the player knows the teammates and routines around him. That does not guarantee him the same workload next season, but it removes some of the uncertainty that would come with a replacement.
What the numbers can tell us
Save percentage is straightforward: saves divided by shots on goal. The difficulty is that the shots are not equally demanding. A screened attempt from the slot and a clear look from distance each count once, even though they ask very different things of a goaltender.
Goals-against average has a similar limitation. It records goals allowed per 60 minutes, so both the number and quality of the chances a team concedes can affect it.
The small differences in those numbers can still matter. Over 760 shots, one percentage point of save percentage amounts to 7.6 goals. That calculation shows the scale of the difference; it does not predict DeSmith’s next season or translate directly into a set number of wins.
What Dallas needs from the deal
The Stars need dependable starts when they hand DeSmith the net. Judging whether he delivers them will take more than following his save percentage after each game. The chances he faces, the opposition and the workload around those appearances all matter.
Dallas has committed to a familiar answer at a position that can become urgent quickly. The value will come in the games when the Stars need to rest their other goaltender and still expect to win.
DeSmith’s 2025–26 workload
| 28 | starts |
|---|---|
| 760 | shots faced |
| .907 | save percentage |
Source: NHL player data. Save percentage rounded from (760 − 71) / 760. Regular season only.
