Blackhawks extend Spencer Knight

When asked about extending Knight, General Manager Kyle Davidson had glowing remarks.

“After joining the team in March, Spencer quickly cemented himself as a crucial piece of our future,” Davidson said. “A talented, young goaltender, he brings athleticism, sound positioning and a calm demeanor to his game, and we’re excited to watch Spencer continue to flourish in Chicago for the new four seasons.”

With this new deal, Knight becomes the 17th-highest paid goaltender based on cap hit. He slots comfortably between $5.85-million Logan Thompson and $5.4-million Elvis Merzlikins.

The former 13th overall pick had extremely impressive underlying metrics during his time split between Chicago and the Florida Panthers. Among goalies with at least 30 games played last season, Knight was even with goaltenders like Jake Oettinger in goals saved above expected per 60, while sitting ahead of goalies like Jordan Binnington, Sergei Bobrovsky and Jacob Markstrom. Having statistics like this while being behind one of the youngest and, let’s face it, one of the worst defensive cores in the league, is commendable.

Although the sample size is relatively small, Knight is only 24 years old. Signing Knight to a contract that gives him a longer leash while the rest of the young roster improves alongside him is a smart bet by Davidson. Like with the Frank Nazar extension, Davidson is betting on excess value created by a skyrocketing salary cap and player development.