Florida Signs Young Goaltender to Contract Extension
The Florida Panthers have signed goaltender Spencer Knight to a three-year contract worth $13.5 million, per Kevin Weekes.
Knight, 21, is the latest up-and-comer to earn a lucrative contract, and the pundits are already criticizing the deal, mostly because the young goalie only has 36 games of NHL experience. So far, Knight has managed a 2.74 goals-against average and .909 save-percentage, with a 23-9-3 record for the Panthers.
Still under his entry-level contract, Knight's new rate will not kick in until 2023-24, giving Florida GM Bill Zito time to figure out his expensive goaltending situation. Once the deal kicks in, Florida will spend $14.5 million every season on goaltending.
Knight is, without question, a fine young goaltender and likely the Panthers' goalie of the future. He has proven to be a very capable backup goaltender, but whether or not he can handle a starter's workload remains to be seen.
Ipso facto, why he earned a bigger deal than Dallas Stars' goaltender Jake Oettinger is beyond me. Oettinger has twice as many starts as Knight, better statistics (2.46 GAA / .913 SV%), and a more proven track record in the playoffs.
Yet, somehow, Bill Zito saw to it that his goalie had the bigger tag. Very strange.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 27 | 154 ANSWERS Florida Signs Young Goaltender to Contract Extension How do you feel about Knight's new deal? | ||
| Overpay | 56 | 36.4 % |
| Just Right | 58 | 37.7 % |
| Not Enough | 40 | 26 % |
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16 MAI 2026
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| B | P | PTS | ||
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jack Quinn | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zach Metsa | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
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