is desmith that bad?

Worse goalie ✔

Higher pick ✔

Pittsburgh: why ?

Casey DeSmith .856

Martin Jones .931

No way do the Pens do that.

Hextall has repeatedly stated their 1st and 2nds are off-limits and if for some reason he changed his mind, it certainly wouldn't be for Halak.

Honestly, DeSmith at one point was easily one of the top five best backups in the league, but since around the latter half of last season he's looked awful. Not sure exactly what happened, but he hasn't been the same.

DeSmith has been one of the worst goalies in the league this year. Halak has been unquestionably better than him

You can't identify a problem, acknowledge it, and then proceed to do nothing about it. Something needs to be done to address the backup situation.

Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to auction off the future for a backup. Lindberg is looking like a stud and there's also Domingue. They can explore other options, but not spend a 2nd round pick to get it.

Giving up a 2nd rounder to address a need isn't "auctioning off the future".

It certainly is considering Rutherford has burned through our futures. This is why Hextall has been brought in. He's the antithesis of JR. Again, you're paying a crazy price for a backup. It's not necessary. Everyone needs to chill out just because the Pens played a couple of bad games.