The Chicago Blackhawks may have their goalie of the future in Spencer Knight

It was an impressive the Chicago Blackhawks were able to get a first-round pick for Seth Jones.

It also commendable the Hawks only had to retain around 25% of Jones' massive salary cap hit.

Yet, what is most noteworthy is that Davidson may have also acquired his starting goaltender of the future in this trade.

Spencer Knight was highly touted coming out of the US National Team Development Program and was a rare first-round goalie pick at 13th overall in 2019.

After spending two seasons at Boston College, Knight managed to start two playoff games for the Panthers as a 20-year-old, posting a 2.07 GAA and .933 SV% in those contests. 

Knight spent the following two seasons in both the NHL and AHL before spending the entirety of last season in the AHL.

This should not be cause for concern for Hawks fans, however, as he was stuck in the depth chart behind two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz (who was having a career year). Furthermore, he has played solely with the Panthers this season and boasts a 2.40 GAA and .907 SV% while winning 12 of his 21 starts. 

It was clear that Kyle Davidson had a plan during this rebuild for the forwards and defensemen – he has stocked both pipelines. The goalie position was more of a mystery. Yes, the Hawks have two prospects in Adam Gajan and Drew Commesso but neither looks like a sure thing. Arvid Soderblom has performed admirably this season, but who knows if it is just a flash in the pan?

At 33, the Hawks are unlikely to re-sign Petr Mrazek after next season. He may even be traded in the next week as the team suddenly has a crowded crease with him, Soberblom, Knight, and Laurent Brossoit all in the mix. 

Knight has had NHL success at a young age and has a first-round pedigree. When you look at players with similar track records such as Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jake Oettinger, and Marc-André Fleury, it’s quite encouraging. 

Despite winning a World Juniors gold medal and spending years on a championship roster with the Panthers, Knight has never been an NHL starting goalie. He will finally get that chance in Chicago.