Florida Panthers’ Spencer Knight enters NHL/NHLPA’s player assistance program

The 21-year-old recently returned to the Panthers’ lineup, losing consecutive games against St. Louis and Nashville. Last month, he was sent to the AHL and went 1-1-0 in two games with Charlotte, earning a 23-save shutout over Lake Erie on Jan. 21. Knight has played just four games in 2023 after dealing with an upper-body injury earlier this season.

Taken 13th overall by the Panthers in 2019, Knight has a career regular season record of 31-17-6 with three shutouts and a .906 save percentage. Knight made an immediate impact after leaving the NCAA, winning all four of his starts to close 2020-21 and even appeared in two games in the postseason. With Sergei Bobrovsky’s struggles in recent years, Knight was expected to steal games and be the team’s long-term starting goaltender. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Before turning pro, Knight was viewed as one of the best goaltenders in recent college history. He was a Hockey East champion as a rookie in 2019-20, making the league’s second all-star team. He then won a second championship the year after, was the Hockey East Goalie of the Year and Player of the Year as well.

The Panthers are still in the playoff conversation, sitting tied with Detroit for the last wild-card spot with three games in hand. It’s a big blow for a team that won the President’s Trophy last season and looked destined for another playoff appearance, but injuries and weak play have kept them from staying in contention. The Panthers don’t have a first-round pick after moving it in a deal that brought defenseman Ben Chiarot over from Montreal last season.