Florida Panthers Say Their Goodbyes to Fan Favorite Spencer Knight
It was tough for the Florida Panthers to say their goodbyes to Spencer Knight, but they believe he will flourish after the trade to Chicago.
FORT LAUDERDALE — On Saturday night, the Florida Panthers made a difficult decision to sacrifice a key piece of the future for the sake of trying to win now. And it meant losing someone the organization deeply cared about.
Spencer Knight, who the Panthers watched flourish since making his return to the organization from a stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program due to struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the package that sent Seth Jones in South Florida.
He became a fan favorite in South Florida, where fans still chanted his name during the National Anthem in his first game away from the team. It has been a practice by fans that has gained steam ever since his rookie season.
The chant never wavered when he entered the Player Assistance Program in February of 2023.
“That’s the tough part of this whole thing,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “He comes in as a young man in this locker room and does everything he’s been asked to for a long time.
“I know there’s been ups and downs with him, and the way he’s come out of those tough moments and played unreal this year. Last year, he was a part of the Cup run as well. It’s always tough to say goodbye, especially to a guy like him. He is such a good team guy, such a good guy off the ice, and it’s a tough part of this sport and this business. I wish him nothing but the best to him in Chicago.”
Knight made his return to the NHL this season after spending the back half of the 2022-23 season away from hockey and the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL. He recovered to put up a 12-8-1 record with a .907 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average behind Sergei Bobrovsky this season.
There were ups and downs for Knight this season, but through it all, he had two shutouts and allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of his 22 starts.
The 2019 first-round pick was tabbed to be the goalie of the future — Bobrovsky’s successor — and he was showing signs of it. But the Panthers had to make the hard choice to fill an immediate need on the blue line in search of a second consecutive Stanley Cup.
“I was shocked,” Bobrovsky said. “I was shocked. We built a really good relationship. He’s a great kid and a great goalie. I wish him nothing but the best and I think he’s going to be great.”
Knight now finds himself in a situation where he can be the No. 1 goalie of a team and play 50-60 games per year, rather than the 30 he was on track to play for the Panthers this season.
He showed flashes of that promise already in his Blackhawks debut on Monday, stopping 41 of 42 shots in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Playing behind a team that currently has the second-worst record in the NHL at 19-35-7 and has given up the third-most goals in the league (214) will not be easy, but it should be a good opportunity for the young netminder to grow.
“It’s a tougher situation when you care about somebody deeply, and then you send them to a situation that’s worse,” coach Paul Maurice said. “That you’ve got a 32- or 33-year-old guy that’s battled for you and you send him to a rebuild. He is going to a place that is timed for him to build with the team and with the team and with a group of more guys in his age group…
“It’s going to be great for Spencer Knight and I’m really happy for him. … He’s good where he’s at. He’s solid. He’s feels good and he’s got a program. He’s got the toolbox he needs to go on and be great.”