Florida Panthers Trade Spencer Knight to Chicago for Seth Jones

The Florida Panthers made a blockbuster trade Saturday night, trading goalie Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks for All-Star defenseman Seth Jones.

Florida is sending Knight and either a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick to the Blackhawks who will retain $2.5 million per season in the deal.

Knight, Florida’s first-round pick in 2019, has one year remaining on his contract; Jones has five years remaining at an annual cap hit (now) of $7 million.

The defending Stanley Cup champions certainly made a gigantic statement on Saturday.

The Panthers did not have to Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve to become salary cap compliant because they had the cap space to add Jones after Knight’s $4.5 million contract is subtracted.

Jones, who had to waive his no-trade to make the deal work, is with the Blackhawks in Anaheim and is expected to join the Panthers for practice on Monday.

Knight was assumed to have started against the Flames on Saturday but was likely held out as this deal was in the works.

“Seth is an elite veteran defenseman and a proven leader in our league,” Florida GM Bill Zito, who had Jones in Columbus, said in a statement.

“He has been one of the most consistent players of the past decade serving as a reliable workhorse on both sides of the puck, and he will help our club continue to compete at the highest level.”

“On behalf of the entire Florida Panthers organization, we would like to thank Spencer for his many contributions to our club and the South Florida community both on and off the ice.

“He is a first-class individual and we wish him success in his young professional career.”

Jones, 30, is a right-handed defenseman and will either be paired with Gus Forsling or Niko Mikkola in Florida’s top-4.

He played with Sergei Bobrovsky with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

• FHN: Is Seth Jones a Fit with the Florida Panthers?

Jones was sent to Chicago in 2021 and signed an eight-year contract extension with the Blackhawks upon the trade.

Florida was looking for high-end defensive help after losing Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour to free agency during the summer.

Jones has seven goals and 27 points in 42 games for the Blackhawks this season and made it clear he wanted to move on from a rebuilding team in Chicago.

The Panthers could have drafted Jones with the second pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, but went with Sasha Barkov instead.

Jones was taken by the Nashville Predators with the No. 4 pick.

Knight, in his first season back with the Panthers, was 12-8-1 with Florida this season (2.40/.907).

According to Pierre LeBrun, who first broke the story, Florida will give up a first-round pick in 2026 or 2027 — which gives the Panthers the option to move either one of those picks before the NHL Trade Deadline hits Friday afternoon.

To replace Knight as Bobrovsky’s backup, Florida is expected to recall Chris Driedger from AHL Charlotte at least for the time being.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.