The Vancouver Canucks recently traded forward Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goaltender Casey DeSmith. This trade allows the Canucks to be cap compliant entering the 2023-24 season, and now they have a stronger duo between the pipes for a new season. A combination of Thatcher Demko and DeSmith will allow the Canucks to improve on what was a weak 2022-23 season. To only give up Pearson and a third in exchange for an upgrade in goal is impressive, and the Washington Capitals should have been all over that in hopes of improving on Charlie Lindgren as a backup goaltender.
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With little to no cap space left, I understand it would have been tough to make any deal for DeSmith work in the first place. But if the Canadiens were as desperate to move him as it now seems they were, the Caps should have been willing to cough up some pieces to try and make it work. DeSmith is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.8 million cap hit and, with about $800,000 in cap space, the Capitals only had to find $1 million to trade away. However, if Max Pacioretty hits long-term injured reserve at the start of the season, its fair to assume they could’ve made this deal happen any way they wanted.
How Could The Capitals Have Outbid The Canucks & Why Is DeSmith The Better Option?
Two factors that went into this trade were the asking price for DeSmith and the type of player the Habs were looking for in return. On the ice, Pearson was riddled with injuries during the 2022-23 season and only played 14 games, scoring one goal and adding four assists for five points. The Capitals have both their 2024 and 2025 third-round draft picks so they could have easily matched that.
If the Canadiens were looking to obtain a player who has a positive impact in the dressing room and could be a project player for them, they may have been interested in forward Anthony Mantha. If they wanted a defenseman instead of a forward, the Caps could have offered Trevor van Riemsdyk. While Lindgren is not a bad goalie by any means, if the team plans on contending in the 2023-24 season, DeSmith would have been a better option if Darcy Kuemper ever went down with an injury.
This one is a bad miss for the Capitals; they want to contend and need strong goaltending to do so. While Kuemper and Lindgren aren’t necessarily a bad tandem to take into the new season, DeSmith getting traded from the Canadiens was almost a guarantee considering their situation in net with Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault taking the spots up. The fact the Capitals weren’t able to bring him in, or even have any interest whatsoever, is wild.
The Capitals have made it known they don’t want to rebuild while Alex Ovechkin chases the goal record. So, bringing in a slightly more experienced goaltender who has more games under his belt and has seen the ice in the playoffs would be beneficial compared to Lindgren. I have trust that Lindgren can be a sound backup for the team this season, but DeSmith would have been the stronger option.
Going Forward With Kuemper & Lindgren
The Capitals enter the season with a tandem of Kuemper and Lindgren in net hoping to help lead them to success and, hopefully, into a playoff spot. Kuemper finished the 2022-23 season with a .909 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.85 goals-against average (GAA). Lindgren finished the season with a .899 SV% and a 3.05 GAA. Both of them had solid seasons and, while goaltending wasn’t their biggest issue last season, bringing in DeSmith could’ve allowed Kuemper to play fewer games and have him more rested for important matchups.
Looking at why DeSmith may have been a better option for the season, it starts with his experience. DeSmith has 134 games played under his belt over six seasons while Lindgren only has 60. DeSmith has also spent a couple of seasons in a “1A/1B” tandem where he and his goaltending partner played close to the same amount of games during his time with the Penguins. While Kuemper will still play north of 50 games, DeSmith can handle 30-plus games a season and can be trusted to step in and handle more in the event of an injury to their starter.
DeSmith is coming off of a solid season where he posted a 3.17 GAA and a .905 SV% with the Penguins before being involved in the three-way deal that saw Erik Karlsson get traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. As mentioned, DeSmith being traded again was inevitable, but the Capitals should have been a lot more aggressive than they were. They will now rely on the same tandem as last season to help bring them back to the playoffs.
