The Dallas Stars have re-signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Philippe Desrosiers to a one-year two-way contract according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Desrosiers will earn $715K at the NHL level. The 22-year old goaltender was ineligible for salary arbitration this summer, and will be a restricted free agent again at the end of the contract.
Desrosiers was originally selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, but found his first real sustained success this season in the minor leagues. Playing for the ECHL Idaho Steelheads, the young goaltender went 23-9-1 with a .913 save percentage and performed even more impressively in the Kelly Cup playoffs. Even though the Steelheads would be swept in the second round by the eventual champion Colorado Eagles, Desrosiers put up a .934 save percentage in ten games and even collected a pair of assists. In two AHL games, he stopped 25 of 26 shots.
With Mike McKenna now in the Ottawa Senators organization, Desrosiers should get a bigger opportunity in the AHL this season and try to stake a claim to the starting role before other prospects like Jake Oettinger and Colton Point overtake him. While Dallas continues to use Ben Bishop and now Anton Khudobin at the NHL level, there are several young goaltenders who will be maturing in the system ready to take over when needed.