Trip to AHL could be huge for Florida Panthers’ Spencer Knight

George Richards of Florida Hockey Now joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk on Daily Faceoff Live to discuss the assignment of Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

Frank Seravalli: George, I got to ask you about Spencer Knight; maybe the writing was on the wall when the Panthers signed Anthony Stolarz to his deal, but obviously, he’s the backup right now, and you got Sergei Bobrovsky leading the way. But it’s pretty rare to see a goalie making $4.5 million dollars that was thought of as the future of the franchise starting the year in the AHL. We all know what Knight went through last season in all the hurdles and obstacles, but what’s the plan? 

George Richards: Well, the plan is for him to play, and when you say ‘thought of to be the future’, he still is. Knight is still the goalie of the future. He’s in the first year of a three-year extension that pays him $4.5 million, obviously signed way before he left the team to join the player assistance program. He’s going down to Charlotte to get playing time; he was sent there in February, just before he left the team for the remainder of the season, for the same exact reason: he wasn’t going to get the playing time. They felt like In his development, he needs to play, he doesn’t need to sit behind Bobrovsky, he doesn’t need to be taking the morning scratch skates, he needs to be playing in games, and he seems cool with that.

George Richards: We talked with him at development camp; he had to get a waiver from the NHL to attend development camp with the Panthers, and all he wanted was to get back with the team, get back in action, and he was like, ‘if I’m in Florida, I’m in Florida. If I’m in Charlotte, then I’m in Charlotte.’ He understands this is an opportunity to get more playing time. Like you said, the writing was on the wall, and this was the plan from July 1. The Panthers targeted Stolarz; they wanted a good NHL backup goalie, they wanted to solidify their three-goalie position, and they feel like they’ve done so. Now that allows Knight to go do what he needs to do. 

Frank Seravalli: So, is the plan for him to stay there all year? 

George Richards: I don’t think so. I think they are playing it by ear. There’s no rush. 

Frank Seravalli: Will it become a meritocracy? I guess that is my question. If Knight’s numbers are excellent in the AHL, will you bring him back up, and can you supplant Bobrovksy and be that guy? 

George Richards: Time will tell. With what Bobrovsky did in the playoffs and even a month prior to him getting sick and having Alex Lyon take over, Bobrovksy seemed to have turned a corner and was terrific in the postseason. He’s the number one goalie here; he did fine last night and gave up two goals. But maybe we will have to see. It looked like last December, Knight was going to take over, and then Bobrosvky took it back, so anything can happen over the course of the season.

You can watch the full show here…