Blackhawks sign Spencer Knight to 3-year, $17.5 million extension: What it means
The Blackhawks have their core goalie for the future.
On Saturday, the team announced it has signed goalie Spencer Knight to a three-year, $17.5 million contract extension ($5.83 million salary cap hit).
After acquiring the 24-year-old Knight from the Florida Panthers as part of the Seth Jones deal at the trade deadline last season, Knight appeared in 15 games for the Blackhawks down the stretch. There were some highs and lows during that time, with Knight having an .896 save percentage, but the Blackhawks had seen enough to believe in Knight for years to come.
Knight was about to enter the final year of a three-year contract with a $4.5 million cap hit that he signed with the Panthers in 2022. He would have required a qualifying offer at that same number from the Blackhawks as a restricted free agent. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has demonstrated a tendency to try to get ahead of expiring contracts and sew up players he believes will be part of the team’s future. He most recently signed Frank Nazar to a seven-year extension with a $6.59 million cap hit after Nazar played in 53 NHL games for the Blackhawks and still had one year left on his entry-level contract.
Knight’s experience as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run gave him instant cachet among the Blackhawks’ bevy of younger players. He quickly became an important voice in the dressing room, and his teammates — veterans included — frequently raved about his presence and his work ethic.
“I love just asking him about the (Panthers), what they were like, what they did, how they had that success,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “It was fun to pick his brain.”
It was quite a role reversal from his lesser role in Florida, but it’s one that Knight embraced.
“In Florida I was like one of the younger guys,” he said. “Then I come here and I feel old. In Florida I learned a lot just from observing people. And I want to bring that here. It’s not something like I think I know everything. I don’t. And I’m still learning a lot. I still think there’s a lot of things I can do to take steps, and that’ll come with experience. But I have seen a thing or two in hockey and in life that I think can serve the team well.”
With Knight and the 26-year-old Arvid Söderblom, the Blackhawks could be set in net for years to come. Veteran backup Laurent Brossoit is still on the roster, but he didn’t play at all last season due to various injuries, and his status for the upcoming season is murky at best. Drew Commesso, a 22-year-old who was a 2020 second-round pick, will be the Rockford IceHogs’ No. 1 goalie again this season and is waiting in the wings.
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