With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 49 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Casey DeSmith

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Left

Age: 29

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 181 pounds

2020-21 NHL statistics: 20 games, 11-7-0 record, 2.54 goals-against average, .912 save percentage, two shutouts

Contract: Second year of a three-year contract with a salary-cap hit of $1.25 million. Pending restricted free agent in 2022.

Acquired: Undrafted free-agent signing, July 1, 2015

2020-21 season: Casey DeSmith was back in a familiar place this past season.

The NHL.

After spending the vast majority of the 2019-20 campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League due in part to a salary cap squeeze, DeSmith was back on the NHL roster following the departure of former starter Matt Murray via trade in October.

Reinstalled as the backup — this time to new starter Tristan Jarry — DeSmith was pressed into service early, replacing a struggling Jarry in the second game of the season on Jan. 15.

DeSmith actually recorded the Penguins’ first win of the season by making 20 saves on 23 shots in a 4-3 shootout triumph at home against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 17 when the Penguins opted to bench Jarry for two games in order to let him round out the rough edges to his game.

DeSmith even showed off some slick skills with the puck as he set up forward Teddy Blueger for the team’s first short-handed goal of the season during a 5-4 overtime home win against the Capitals on Jan. 19.

Jarry eventually leveled things off and DeSmith’s starts primarily came in the second portion of games on back-to-back dates in a season full of them due to the league’s schedule format created to work around the pandemic.

Like a lot of goaltenders who were lucky enough to play the worst team in the NHL, DeSmith’s greatest success came against the Buffalo Sabres as each of his shutouts this past season was recorded against Buffalo.

Arguably, the low point of DeSmith’s season, at least based on performance, came in a 7-5 road loss to the Boston Bruins. He made only 21 saves on 27 shots in that setback.

DeSmith’s season came to an end May 3 in a 7-2 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He left the contest after two periods and never returned. After missing the Penguins’ entire six-game postseason run, the team announced DeSmith underwent surgery June 10 to correct a core muscle injury.

The future: DeSmith’s prescribed recovery time is six to eight weeks so he should be healthy by the time training camps open in mid-September.

What camp he’ll be in could be a fair matter to speculate on.

While DeSmith performed more than adequately in his role this past season, the guy ahead of him on the depth chart, Jarry, did not, at least in the postseason.

That has prompted fair suggestions that the Penguins seek a goaltender that can either replace Jarry or present a greater claim the starting role than DeSmith can offer.

To be clear, DeSmith belongs in the NHL. As one of the league’s smaller goaltenders, DeSmith relies on his quickness and reflexes to prevent goals. He has proven his place on the Penguins’ roster repeatedly.

But factors beyond his control, including next month’s expansion draft, could dictate where he plays next season.

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