Knight showing solid progress, but sent to minors ‘to keep his cadence’
It had been a long time since Spencer Knight had a moment like the one he got at the end of the Florida Panthers’ 4-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. The goaltender had stopped all but one of the Golden Knights’ shots, so he got to skate around the ice and raise his stick to the FLA Live Arena rafters as the second star of the game. It was, he and the Panthers hope, another sign of progress for the struggling rookie.
It’ll be the last glimpse the NHL gets of the 20year-old goalie for a little while, though. Less than 24 hours after Knight helped lead Florida to win against the Golden Knights, the Panthers sent him down to the American Hockey League for only the second time in his career and he’ll stay there at least through the AllStar break, barring an injury to either Sergei Bobrovsky or Jonas Johansson.
On the surface, any trip to the minor leagues can look like a demotion. This one is not.
“For a young goalie not to play a lot, it’s a hard position, something he’s never really had to deal with,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think it’s a good thing to get him to keep his cadence.”
Knight’s last two starts — his 24-save gem against Vegas and a 27-save performance against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 21 — were his two best since Thanksgiving, providing hope for a midseason turnaround, and Florida, with only three games left before the 2022 NHL All-Star Game, doesn’t want Knight to lose any progress.
Bobrovsky will start in goal Saturday against the San Jose Sharks in Sunrise and Johansson, who cleared COVID-19 protocols on Jan. 18, will be his backup. Neither Johansson nor Knight were eligible to be part of the taxi squad and Johansson would have to be put on waivers before being assigned to the minors, leaving Knight as the odd man out as the Panthers activated a handful of other newly healthy players.
Given the way Bobrovsky has played this year, the move makes sense for Knight’s development, too. Bobrovsky, who entered Saturday ranked second in the league in goals saved above expected, has emerged as a dark-horse candidate for the Vezina Trophy in his third year in Florida and is one of only 11 goalies in the NHL to start at least 30 games so far this year. Knight, who began the season with Calder Memorial Trophy aspirations after a spectacular ascent in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, has been shunted into a true reserve role and has an .899 save percentage in 14 starts.
Now with AHL Charlotte, Knight will get to be the starter for at least two-plus weeks, until the NHL season restarts after its All-Star break in the middle of February.
“He’s playing really well right now and [we want to] keep him in that mode,” Brunette said. “He was exceptional over the last two starts, and we don’t want him to lose it and have to find it again.”
While he didn’t commit to an exact length of Knight’s minor-league stint, Brunette said this has been an idea within the organization for a little while.
Johansson’s play could be a factor — he hasn’t appeared in a game for Florida yet this season, but could suit up next week when the Panthers play back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday — and Brunette said he hopes he’ll get an “opportunity where we can see him and see how he does.” If Johansson does play well enough for Florida to justify hanging onto him as a third goalie, the Panthers will face a more complicated decision with Knight.
An extended stint in the AHL wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Knight, either. As long as Bobrovsky keeps playing at this All-Star level, Knight will have a more consistent role with the Charlotte Checkers. In all likelihood, Florida will count on Knight in some capacity come the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and consistent playing time in the minors might be the best way to have him ready for the postseason.
HORNQVIST POSSIBLY OUT THROUGH BREAK
The Panthers took Patric Hornqvist off injured reserve Friday, but the right wing might not be in the lineup anytime soon. He remains “day to day,” Brunette said.
Hornqvist, who hasn’t played since Jan. 15 because of an upper-body injury, might not suit up again until after the break, which means he’d miss more than a month with the injury.
Florida doesn’t want to rush the 35-year-old winger, especially because it has the forward depth to make do without him.
“Horny’s still, again, day to day. I don’t know if he’ll get active before the break or not,” Brunette said. “It’s kind of touch and go right now.”
Defenseman Olli Juolevi also came off IR on Friday, but remained inactive Saturday. His exact timetable isn’t yet clear, either.
“They’re skating now,” Brunette said. “We’ll get updates later.”