If it wasn’t already appointment viewing whenever the 29-12-5 Florida Panthers hit the ice, tonight will bring even more excitement and intrigue. Spencer Knight, one of the very best goaltending prospects in the world, will make his NHL debut at the tender age of 20. Head coach Joel Quenneville confirmed that the young netminder would be starting tonight, saying “he’s ready for it. Looking forward to seeing how he handles it.”
For breaking a new goaltender into the league, there may be no better opponent than the Columbus Blue Jackets these days. The team has lost six in a row and fallen below the Detroit Red Wings for last place in the Central Division. All things equal the Panthers should be able to handle Columbus with almost anyone in net, though that certainly won’t calm any of the nerves for Knight.
Selected 13th overall in 2019, Knight absolutely dominated in his two years at Boston College, posting a 39-12-3 record in 54 games and registering a .931 save percentage. He was a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award this year and backstopped the U.S. World Junior squad to a gold medal. Knight is big–he stands a legitimate 6’3″–athletic and usually seems ahead of the play as he slides fluidly around the crease. All of those skills will be tested at the NHL level, but as Quenneville says, he’s ready for it.
The most interesting part of this debut coming so soon though is what it means for the Panthers going forward. The team is locked into Sergei Bobrovsky at a $10MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season and the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has played well of late, seemingly rediscovering his game after a brutal year. Still, the inconsistency he has shown during his time in Florida has to be worrying to the new front office, which has their eyes set on contending for a Stanley Cup not only this year but for the next several. If Knight (or Chris Driedger, who has significantly outplayed Bobrovsky but is a free agent at the end of the season) can take the reins, even a huge contract shouldn’t stand in his way.
Bobrovsky a buyout or a trade with Seattle?
@TJECK109 – Do you think Bob would agree to waive his NMC? Comfy South Florida vs Seattle. Maybe sell him on the notion of being the inaugural netminder for the 32nd team? If he doesn’t want to budge, he won’t. He’ll just collect checks and work on his tan. Can’t see them eating the buyout penalty, either…
I could see the Panthers chewing on some contract and sending a nice package to Seattle if Bob agrees to it.
@Dave – What numbers do you see working for both sides? CapFriendly’s buyout calculator shows the Swamp Kitties would be paying out $18MM over 10 years, and if they were to eat 50% to get Seattle to bite (worst case), they’d be in for $25MM for the remaining five years of the contract. You have to admit, if FLA could pull it off, it’d be the bribe of the decade! Without some secret sauce, it seems a tough nut to crack for the time being. Oh, wait, we still have that quasi-money-laundering mechanism, which can’t be predicted. Maybe 10 teams each shave off $1MM or so? And that’d be a helluva lot of favors or picks to shell out just to get rid of him, too. But, after the latest horse trading we just witnessed, why not? He might need to get liquored up to convince him that Seattle’s beaches are “just as good” as South Florida’s – with fewer sharks! Just keep him away from the Tsunami warning areas. :)
Panthers will make a pre expansion deal with Seattle to send Bob, some cash and picks to take him and go with Knight and Driedger for years to come.
I agree with Mac
If he kills the competition like we expect, his nickname should be “Suge!”
Driedger may be the one cashing in with Seattle. ;)
But Knight is the real deal. Good job in his first NHL start!
@Gbear – Have to admit, he’d be a great add for them if he’s available.
No reason for him to stay in FLA. Either the Bob or Knight has the crease there, Driedger has better starter options elsewhere.
Bob’s deal was the worst in the NHL the moment the pen hit the paper.
It made especially little sense days after drafting Knight.
Lacking a time machine, they should bite the bullet and trade some picks to get a team to take Bob and resign Dreiger to pair with Knight.