Jake Oettinger<\/a> have formed one of the best crease combinations in the league. DeSmith went 15-8-6 last season to complement Oettinger\u2019s 35-12-6. He had a lower GAA (2.43 to 2.59) and a higher save percentage (.907 to .899) than the Dallas starter, and that helped greatly in the Stars finishing second overall in goals against.<\/p>\n\u201cI think it\u2019s huge, because if you\u2019re not giving up goals, then you\u2019re in every game,\u201d said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. \u201cIt\u2019s a big part of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSmith is entering his third season with the Stars and also signed a two-year contract extension (with a $2.5 million AAV) earlier in the week. The new deal keeps him in Dallas through the 2028-29 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was something that I had talked to them about wanting to stay,\u201d DeSmith said. \u201cThere’s a lot to figure out from their perspective. Then they finally reached out, and we were able to come to an agreement. It was something that came together really smoothly, which was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gulutzan and Oettinger were both excited about the security for the position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous signing for us,\u201d Gulutzan said. \u201cHe\u2019s so respected in that locker room. There\u2019s not a man who didn\u2019t want him in that locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Oettinger added: \u201cHe deserves it more than anyone. He\u2019s a great teammate, great friend and great goalie partner. I couldn\u2019t be happier for him and pumped that we can keep it going for another three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSmith has helped lower the wear and tear on Oettinger and has done it in a quiet, but confident manner. Asked if he wants more games, he shrugged and said he just wants to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no control over how many games I play,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to support Jake and win games for this team, but I don\u2019t have much control. So I just try to do my best when I\u2019m in there. That\u2019s the best mindset to have. So I just try to be someone the team can depend on when I am in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gulutzan said the fact he conducts himself as a pro helps every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s competitive. Not that competitive you see on the surface, but right under the surface. It\u2019s a slow burn,\u201d Gulutzan said. \u201cThat helps in the situation he\u2019s in, how he practices, how he gets fired up. I\u2019d say that\u2019s his greatest attribute.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First Shift \ud83c\udfd2 Casey DeSmith is in a good place. He\u2019s coming off a fantastic preseason showing, just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-455385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}