When the Blackhawks acquired Spencer Knight from Florida as part of the Seth Jones deal prior to the trade deadline, they picked up who they feel can be their goalie of the future in the swap. They’ve now made sure he’ll be in the fold for a while longer as the team announced that they’ve inked the netminder to a three-year extension worth $17.5MM, or $5.833MM per season. GM Kyle Davidson released the following statement:
After joining the team in March, Spencer quickly cemented himself as a crucial piece of our future. A talented, young goaltender, he brings athleticism, sound positioning and a calm demeanor to his game, and we’re excited to watch Spencer continue to flourish in Chicago over the next four seasons.
Knight was a first-round pick by Florida back in 2019, going 13th overall. He quickly made the jump to the pros in 2020 and was the full-time backup for the Panthers in 2021-22. Soon after, Florida saw fit to give him a fairly significant bridge deal for a netminder with limited experience, signing him to a three-year, $13.5MM pact, the last season of which comes in 2025-26 with the extension running through 2028-29.
Florida didn’t get a great return on that deal at the beginning. Knight stepped away from the team in February 2023 to enter the Player Assistance Program to treat his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The following year (the first of the new contract) was spent entirely at the AHL level with the Panthers prioritizing getting Knight as much playing time as possible while Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz comprised Florida’s tandem. He played relatively well with AHL Charlotte, posting a 2.41 GAA along with a .905 SV% in 45 games that season.
Stolarz moved on to Toronto last season, paving the way for Knight (now waiver-eligible) to return to the Panthers. He played in 23 games with Florida in 2024-25, putting up a 2.40 GAA and a .907 SV%, both better than the NHL average. That was good enough to make him the centerpiece of the return for Jones and Chicago gave Knight plenty of playing time down the stretch. The 24-year-old suited up in 15 contests for the Blackhawks following the swap where he had a 3.18 GAA and a .893 SV% on a group that was prioritizing giving some of their prospects plenty of playing time late in the year.
This deal buys Chicago only one extra year of team control as he still had two RFA-eligible years remaining after this one. PuckPedia relays (Twitter link) that the contract is front-loaded, paying $7.25MM in 2026-27, $5.75MM in 2027-28, and $4.5MM in 2028-29; he’ll also have a 15-team no-trade clause that year.
Knight will enter the season at the head of a goaltending trio that has quietly become one of the more expensive groups in the league. Arvid Soderblom begins the first year of his new two-year, $5.5MM pact and will likely be the backup while veteran Laurent Brossoit, who didn’t play last season due to injury, has one year left on his agreement at $3.3MM.
But while this contract cements Knight as the starter for a little while longer, it stops short of handing him the job for the long haul. That should prove appealing for their prospects as Drew Commesso and Adam Gajan were both second-round picks that Chicago hopes can be part of the future plans as well. Commesso had a solid year with AHL Rockford in 2024-25 while making his NHL debut while Gajan struggled in his first taste of college action and is probably a couple of years away from turning pro. If one of them breaks through and seriously pushes for the starting job, Chicago can still pivot and go in that direction while if not, they’ll get the next few years to see if Knight is the right fit for the job for the long haul.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Chicago was signing Knight to an extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the terms.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.