Once Spencer Knight’s contract negotiations with the Blackhawks got rolling a few weeks ago, the 24-year-old goalie sat back and reflected on his situation.
The sides were discussing a three-year deal, which would lock him in for four more years since his current contract has a year left on it. That seemed perfectly reasonable.
However, the recent trend for Knight’s peers — notable goalies in their mid-20s around the NHL — has been maximum-term eight-year contracts. The Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and the Stars’ Jake Oettinger got them last October. Dustin Wolf just signed one with the Flames on Sept. 9. Even the recent exceptions — Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal — signed for five years.
There’s a big difference between four years and nine years from now, which Knight was able to put into perspective just by exam-ining his own life. Nine years ago, in 2016, he was starting his sophomore year of high school at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut, a world away. Four years ago, in 2021, he was starting his rookie season with the Panthers. And since then, he has experienced a lot: 153 pro starts, a stint in the NHL/NHLPA assistance program, a playoff run, a high-profile trade and more.
Ultimately, the exercise helped him decide a three-year extension made sense.
“It’s not a short amount of time,” Knight said. “There’s so much time to change and evolve. I didn’t really see a need to go all the way out and even try to do eight years. Both sides were very comfortable with three.
“Obviously, when you get to the third year from now, you make more decisions. But that’s not something I’m even thinking about now. It’s plenty of time for [the Hawks] to really grow and for me to work on my game.”
Knight’s against-the-grain decision could have ripple effects on the goalie market. In the short term, his new salary-cap hit of $5.83 million could influence the negotiations of Filip Gustavsson (Wild), Anthony Stolarz (Maple Leafs) and Stuart Skinner (Oilers), three starting goalies who currently make less than $4 million per year on contracts that expire next summer.
Further out, Knight, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2029, could benefit from a market scarcity at that point, since his peers who signed eight-year deals won’t hit free agency until much later.
“Goalies are interesting, because when [Jets star Connor] Hellebuyck was looking for his contract [in 2023], people were like, ‘He’s already 30,’ ” Knight said. “Well, he’s won two Vezinas and one Hart Trophy since.
“A word that I think of a lot when I think about my career is ‘sustainability.’ That’s something I’m looking for. I’m looking to not just peak at 28 or 29, but to sustain this over the course of time.”
Knight’s former mentor in Florida, Sergei Bobrovsky, exemplifies sustainability, considering he’s 37 and still dominating the sport. But Knight isn’t seeking to specifically replicate Bobrovsky’s career, either.
Sergei Bobrovsky, former mentor with the Panthers, exemplifies sustainability, considering he’s 37 and still dominating. But Knight isn’t seeking to follow his exact path.
“When I was growing up, the big goalies were Carey Price, Bobrovsky in Columbus, and [Andrei] Vasilevskiy was just starting to pick up,” he said. “You look at their games and you try to pick things up. But when I turned pro, I started realizing, ‘I’m my own person.’
“I say this when I look at Connor [Bedard] or Frank [Nazar]. Everyone is comparing their stats to [various] players from four or five years ago [and asking], ‘Are they going to be on the same track?’ I always think, ‘Let Connor be Connor, let Frank be Frank, and I’m just going to be me. Those guys don’t have to be anyone else but themselves.’ It’s a refreshing mindset to have.”