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Casey DeSmith: an old story of violence against a woman resurfaces
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Casey DeSmith: an old story of violence against a woman resurfaces

The Canadiens have acquired Casey DeSmith. No word yet on his role with the Habs, but the goaltender is on the club’s payroll right now.

At the time of writing, we can envision a three-way partnership with Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault… but an injury or a transaction could change the picture quickly.

But it’s interesting to get to know him a little better. Why? Because he’s one of the pieces of the deal expected to have the biggest impact on the Habs, and we don’t know him.

We know the goalie, but not the man.

Nathan Légaré is a player who will most likely start the season in Laval, and the second-round pick doesn’t exactly need an introduction, let’s face it. Jeff Petry, who could be leaving, is well known to the locals. No need to introduce him.

But DeSmith is not.

What you notice when you look at his stats is that the goalie had a good NCAA career, but didn’t play at all in the 2014-2015 season.

Why is that? First of all, you might think that an injury prevented him from playing. It’s a normal reflex when you think of a young university student who doesn’t play for a year.

(Credit: Hockey DB)

But that’s not it.

In fact, just a few weeks into his final year (so late summer 2014), DeSmith was arrested for domestic violence. The goalie was accused of attacking a woman.

DeSmith allegedly jumped on the woman in question before punching her and spitting on her. He also allegedly resisted arrest by police and was intoxicated at the time.

The woman in question was presumably his former girlfriend.

He was then suspended by his club and learned in December that he would be able to finish his studies, but would not be playing again with his university field hockey club. He applied for a transfer, but was unsuccessful.

He negotiated his sentence after pleading not guilty, and in the end would have had 12 months’ probation to avoid jail time. This would include a small fine and community service. He would also have had counseling to manage his relationship with alcohol.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the man has undoubtedly evolved, but I wonder how well it will go over, nine years later, in Montreal.

After all, Canadian and American tolerance isn’t always the same for stories like this.

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– Something to watch.

– Clearly.

– A whole career.

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