Well, our Penguins signed a goalie of French-Canadian heritage today. Just not the one wearing the Fluery…oops…Fleury jersey.
General manager Ron Hextall inked 29-year-old journeyman Louis Domingue to a one-year, two-way deal for $750,000. The 6’3” 210-pounder’s basically this season’s Maxime Lagace. Ergo, a veteran to share the goaltending chores with kids Alex D’Orio and Filip Lindberg at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. And an insurance policy should the injury bug dine on black-and-gold incumbents Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith.
Although he’s appeared in only 17 regular-season NHL games over the past two seasons, Domingue has enjoyed some success at the big-league level. He posted okay stats at the outset of his career while sharing the netminding duties with Mike Smith in Arizona and a respectable .910 save percentage in 38 games with Tampa Bay spread over two seasons. In 2018-19, he registered a sparkling 21-5 record for the Presidents’ Trophy winning Lightning while serving as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s primary backup.
The past couple of seasons haven’t been as kind…a dreadful .882 save percentage while splitting time between the Devils, Canucks and Flames. Still, all-in-all, a solid low-risk signing.
Hey Rick,
Thanks for the up date.
Believe me, I get the signing. Our Penguins only had 4 Goalies under contract up until that signing and as you mention, the injury bug could easily bite – and as soft as these creampuffs are the probabilities have to be over 50% of a necessity.
Also considering the loss of Ceci from the club and the addition of the bruisers (ie Reaves) added to divisional rivals to pound the fore-check on panic prone, waif defensemen our Penguin Goalies just may be caught in a shooting gallery. They may need 1 Goalie per period – the first NHL team to use the concept of long and short relief Goalies.
Interesting stat Rick, the Penguins High Danger Chance (HDC) differential last season was 48.07%, and that was with Ceci. With no real change in toughness at either end of the rink (Forwards or “D”), I can’t imagine that those numbers will improve. With a bunch of Dominik Simons dancing around the perimeter, either afraid or too small to penetrate the paint, it is hard to see the Penguins increasing their HDCF. And with no additions, only subtractions from their Apple Dumpling Gang, I mean Defensive Corps, no one will be able to defend their own house, so I can easily see the HDCA only going up, not down, as well as an increased probability of Goalie injuries.
In a nut shell, I get the signing, but I am still disappointed in the offseason moves. Even if this has all been a gambit to get Shane Wright, I am still disappointed.
Oh and Rick,
I am not even sure if Lindberg may not really be the best Goalie under contract and Dominigue the second coming of Antti Niemi.