Spencer Knight SIGNS 3-Year, $5.83M Extension with Chicago Blackhawks | CHGO Blackhawks Podcast

Spencer Knight SIGNS 3-Year, $5.83M Extension with Chicago Blackhawks | CHGO Blackhawks Podcast

Spencer Knight signs a three-year extension, 5.83 million per year. We’re breaking it down next on CHGO Blackhawks. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday. You are now. Welcome in to the CHGO Blackhawks emergency podcast. Spencer Knight signs a three-year $5.83 million per year extension. Good news, big news. I don’t want to say out of the blue, Mario, but uh Elliot Freeman sort of hinted at this a couple weeks ago, but we were not expecting this today. Mario Turbosi, your initial thoughts on this deal. Kyle Davidson uh again gets a deal that I think works for both sides incredibly well. Um three years 5.835 83 million. Um I think that that’s completely uh fair for for Spencer Knight because like with like with Nazar you’re paying for what the guy can become, right? And and I think with Spencer Knight, you know, we we’ve talked about the Dustin Wolf contract, which was seven years, 7.5. Uh Lucas Dolto was, you know, six and a half, I think, in that range. And we were thinking, okay, Spencer Knight, if he doesn’t, you know, doesn’t sign a deal before this season, goes out and proves yes, he can be that starter of the future for the Blackhawks, then you’re talking about a deal probably in that 6 and a half, you know, in that range, maybe a little bit more. And to get it at 5.83 83. I think that’s really good because then if he does go out there this season, does prove he is that starter to the future and and can can handle all that comes with it. Um then you get him at a a very reasonable if not bargain kind of deal for the guy he can be. Yeah, it it’s everything you said is correct. Uh a fair deal for both sides. It’s a pay raise for Knight who was making four a.5 million uh on the last deal. And you mentioned some of the other goalie deals. Uh you said dol that was a 5year $6.5 million extension with Anaheim. Um Carl Vamela with Utah 5 years 4.75 million. The only thing that caught me a little bit about the Spencer Knight deal was that it was only a three-year extension which is so now it’s it’s four years from it’s next year plus three. Um I was thinking maybe it would have been a little bit longer. So, I’m kind of wondering what this means in terms of their thought about uh Drew Kzo. Like maybe they haven’t given up on him being a starter someday. Uh or maybe they’re just sort of saying, you know what, we haven’t seen enough from Spencer Knight as a full-time starter to go six, seven years with him. Um that was really the only little thought I said, hm, interesting. I wonder why they didn’t go longer on the deal. But aside from that, totally happy with it. And I think it does give Spencer Knight the opportunity to go out and say, “All right, three-year deal. This gives me four seasons with the Hawks to go out and prove that I am what everyone thought I was when I was going to be when I was drafted. Um, he’s this elite prospect, has been for a long time, and played on a great team, was a little bit buried by Sergey Babroski, and came here and played really well. So, if he can continue that for the next four seasons, he’s going to get a big payday. Be it in Chicago, be it somewhere else. So, love the deal. Very happy with it. And I do like that it does sort of send a message to some of the other goalies you have in the system. Most importantly, Drew Kameso, as I mentioned, that hey, you’re not like just completely forgotten here. There is still an opportunity for you to come here. Maybe, you know, maybe Kamezo becomes the full-time backup next year. And then if they decide, okay, Spencer Knight’s either too expensive or wasn’t who we thought, then Kamezo gets that starting role that he’s been eyeing for since being drafted. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Well, you got a two-year extension with uh Arvid Solder Bloom done also this off seasonason. So, that’s that’s an extra year of Solder Bloom, you know, beyond this season where you’re talking about him being in the mix as well. Um and I think yeah, like you you are giving Spencer Knight some runway to become the full-time starter. He has expressed he wants to be that 60 plus games a year kind of guy. Um and he’s going to get the opportunity to potentially do it at maybe this season. Who knows? Um, depending on how, you know, Jeff Blash and his staff want to rotate the goalies and play really is going to dictate a lot of that. But, you know, I I I think that you get that runway for Knight to kind of prove that. Then if he does, that’s that’s good for the team because then you have that guy that’s going to fill that role. And it’s great for Knight because once this deal is over, he’s 28. Yeah. Like that’s still that’s prime. that’s still a great a great age to to hit another um potential payday. And with the cap going up over over the years, you know, whether it’s with Chicago or, you know, hopefully it is because that means things are going well. Um then that’s, you know, the opportunity where you might say, okay, by that point, you know, Spencer Knight could be solidified as this is the franchise starter you had hoped he had been. then you give him that like seven-year deal or whatever it is to be like you’re Blackhawk the rest of your career whatever um it could be. I am not betting against Spencer Knight. And I know, you know, there’s some people in the comments, our buddy Brian Magnus, who’s with us pretty much every show, says he played 15 games, needs to go out and prove it. And I agree with that. But when you look at what he did over the course of the year, 38 starts between the Hawks and Chicago, and you can go through save percentage, you can go through goals against, you can go through all those sort of things. One of my favorite stats in the game is goals saved above average per 60 or above expected per 60. So, you know, how many more saves has he made per 60 minutes? Um, when you look at the goalies in his realm, uh, Dustin Wolf, who you mentioned, just signed, uh, a a longer, more expensive deal. He had 224 goal save above expected per 60. Under him is Jakeer at 1888. Tied with Jakeer is Spencer Knight with a 1888. Now that when you talk about the quality of defense in front of Spencer Knight, when you talk about well look how good Florida was. So you kind of you know that goals against you can’t really count it. The team was so good. When you look at the goals he was expected to save, Spencer Knight was in there with some of the best goalies in the game. And that’s why if I’m making this bet on will Spencer Knight four years from now still be the Blackhawk starting goalie for the next four, the next five, whatever it might be, I am taking that bet. I think he is going to deliver. I the and just we talked about this a little bit this week. His demeanor is it’s something I didn’t know about him. Right. Really all we knew about Spencer Knight coming in was really high prospect Graford USA and then had the the OCD situation that he took care of um and then was kind of, you know, buried in Florida. Um so you weren’t really sure like is this guy kind of busting out? Is he not really reaching his potential? He comes to Chicago and he arrives with this presence that a lot like for as much as like there’s a lot of mature players in Hawks locker room, Spencer Knight had this way about him where when he would speak like people would just gather around. It was like he’s just got this wisdom and this maturity beyond his years. There’s nothing I see from him that tells me that he’s not going to be one of the better, you know, top third starters in this league for the next decade. And I’m glad that at least for the next four years he’s going to do it with Chicago. Yeah, I I I think he’s he’s definitely got a little bit of that command of of you know, I want to say command of the room, but he’s definitely got you know, experience being in winning environments, obviously being with the Panthers and um you know, being around them for one of their Stanley Cup runs. And that can be something that I think guys can maybe gravitate towards where he could maybe give a little bit of insight to like, hey, like this is this is what it takes. I’ve I’ve been around it. I’ve seen it. I’ve been, you know, I’ve played with those those guys and, you know, this is what it takes for, you know, championship level defense. Communication, like things that he can take away and bring to the team. I think that’s going to be really valuable. And um you know he’s he’s 24 you know he’s been with you know guys from the US program and you know knew uh Blastic and and Slagger when he first got here. So he he had some friends. So it was kind of a an easy fit into that that future group. And um I think that’s you know that’s that’s very valuable with this with this group moving forward. And um you know, as far as the change from Florida to Chicago, um when you and and Greg were talking with Sean Shapiro, he brought up a he brought up the quality starts stat, you know, basically he was when he was in Florida, he had about a 60% uh quality starts average, which is, you know, a a game in which your save percentage is above league average. When he got to Chicago, 15 uh what was it? Eight of those 15 starts were quality starts. that by my math that’s about between 50 and 60%. Um, so that that’s that’s falling in average with what he was doing with a better group in Florida. So I I I I feel very positive about what he can do in net individually um before bringing it to, you know, the team aspect, which yeah, this season, you know, is he going to light it up for a, you know, a 920 save percentage or something like that? Unlikely. But I think if he’s if he’s in the league average range, you know that things are going to be going well because it is a young defense. Um, and he’s a guy that when he was here, his save percentage, as as as impressive as he was, the save percentage number wasn’t that impressive. It was the 892, I think. But given, you know, you look into more of the micro stats and given the context of the way he played and, you know, some of those how he kept the team in some of those games, um, that tells more of the story. So, I’m excited for it. I again, I think this is a really good deal. Um, Ben Pope did the math here. Vacic, Nazar, and Knight uh on their current contracts. And then when all their extensions kick in, just barely over 17 million combined for the three of those guys. That’s before getting Connor Bard done. Um and then factoring in, you know, maybe some other contracts down the road. Ethan Delastro, Nolan Allen, like still got to get done. Um, but I mean that when you when you look at like who’s coming around in the next couple of years, Anton Fondell will sign his ELC soon. Um, you know, Sasha B is going to have to make his his debut and be on an ELC. Like the cap flexibility is is is there for them to maybe start being aggressive whether it’s trades or free agency uh in the near future with the cap going up and the way that he wants to build this roster out. All right, we got some super chats we want to get to uh before we go, but I want to make sure we share this quote from Kyle Davidson from the Blackhawks press release. Davidson says, quote, “After joining the team in March, Spencer quickly cemented himself as a crucial piece of our future. A talented young goalender, he brings athleticism, athleticism, I don’t know where that came from. Sound positioning and a calm demeanor to his game, and we’re excited to watch Spencer continue to flourish in Chicago over the next four seasons.” So, good stuff. Uh, very exciting and it’s just as you’re mentioned, Mario, you you look at the long-term commitments on this team right now. Everyone’s confident Bard’s going to get done. It is it is wise for Conor Bedar to probably bet on himself this year and wait. It’s fine. No one seems too worried about it. Said that about Nazar said that about Knight. Yeah, sure. Maybe it gets done now. Who knows? in in the next uh you know five days between now and the start of training camp might we have a Connor Bernard extension and Kyle Davidson dusts off his hands and says all those big ones are done. That would be nice. That would be nice. That would be nice. But he’s and but still he’s get got to get Kaiser done. Let’s go. Yeah. So you’ve got already locked up uh Donado for the next four, Nazar for the next eight. Uh you’ve got Vassic for the next five. uh you’re you’re in good shape here now with Spencer Knight within for the next four and you know you’ve got a lot of guys on rookie deals. Lechnov, Renzel with two more years on their deals. Kchinski is going to need a new deal after this year. Um but just uh I don’t know, man. It’s they’re lined up well. They’re in good position to be competitive for a long time. Uh Michael with a $5 super chat says, “Night’s new number is 83. You must have the players number in the contract.” Aev. Yeah, there you go. Good thought. hold off on ordering your jerseys before we see. But the the little bat signal that the Hawks put out on the Spencer Knight announcement video was number 30. So, I think you’re safe. I don’t think he’s going with a number 30. And Windy City Hockey, our pal, says, “I want a night in 2019, but I’m glad he’s a Hawk now and glad he’s extended.” Yeah, I think we all are. It’s uh it’s it’s solid. And and remember back to the night where the Hawks traded Seth Jones and we had been speculating like well you know they’re going to trade Seth Jones and they’re going to have to you know probably take on a bad deal and you’re not going to get anything of value back. You might have to move a high pick to just to move him and you end up getting Spencer Knight and a first round pick and now you’ve got your goalie of the future sign for the next four seasons. It’s a great piece of work for Kyle Davidson on a guy who’s building a resume of great moves like this, great long-term contract signed. We talk about it all the time. The last box that Kyle Davidson has to check is, can you land that top free agent or can you acquire that topline stud all-star player? That remains to be seen. Uh but man, so far so good for Kyle Davidson. He’s done he’s done really good work. And yesterday getting into it with a guy on Twitter who’s like he basically gave up Brandon Hegel. It’s like well he didn’t. He got Oliver Moore and Sasha B for him along with Boris Kachuk and Taylor Radish. So you can’t really call it a giveaway yet. But you know if that’s the one you want to nitpick fine. Other than that I think Kyle Davidson’s done an outstanding job and uh more work to come but let’s see where it goes from here. Good stuff getting Spencer Knight locked up for three years. 5.83 million. Any closing thoughts before I wrap things up, Mario? Uh, want to mention he’s got a 15 team no trade clause in, uh, year three of that deal. Uh, so just a little extra, you know, security there in case I’m going to crack my celebratory RC. Nice. There we go. Going to chug it like Steve Austin. Be pretty sticky. Um, no, I I think uh, no, I think I again I think it’s a good deal. Um, as we’ve kind of talked this week about, you know, Davidson kind of setting things up and, you know, you talk about Conor McDavid and Carrie off situations, talks, it’s it’s not out of the realm of possibility that as we go getting these deals done, knowing the knowing your cap hit or a large portion of what your cap hit is going into next season, um, this is this this could be setting up for the Blackhawks to be one those teams that says let’s put aside a little bit of room that we might make a run at one of these guys that you know we keep talking about potentially could hit free agency with you know McDavid Capri off for sure unlikely but you know who knows but Jackel Eel or Paneran or uh Kyle Connor like like all those guys need new deals and until they get them they’re they’re potentially uh going to hit free agency. Oh, no. Don’t shop until they sign deals. Until they sign deals, they’re Blackhawks. Sure. Sure. Just like Mitch Mner. Not a bad idea to keep uh keep some space available if uh if they’re out there. All right. Great stuff, everybody. Uh tomorrow, oh no, tonight 6 o’clock, Tom Kerver’s game on blackhawks.com. And then tomorrow at three. So if you’re feeling icky after the Bears game, you could dial up the Hawks and watch them. So, two games in the next 48 hours starting tonight at 6 on blackhawks.com. And Monday on the show, we’ll have Charlie Romelotus who is in Minneapolis covering the Tom Kerver’s uh prospect showcase. So, lots of good stuff on deck at CHDL Blackhawks. And again, if anything happens, Wyatt Kaiser, Connor Bard, we’ll be here. We’re ready for you. We’ll talk to you next time. Thanks for being here on this emergency CHDL Blackhawks podcast. Please do us a favor and hit that like button on your way out and subscribe to our YouTube page as well. We’ll talk to you at the very latest Monday at 2 on the CHGO Blackhawks [Music] [Applause] We all feeling like the mayor Huh?

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed goalie Spencer Knight to a 3-year contract extension worth $5.83 million AAV, and we’ve got an Emergency Podcast to break it all down! What does this move mean for the Blackhawks’ future in net alongside Arvid Söderblom, Drew Commesso, and top star Connor Bedard? Jay Zawaski and Mario Tirabassi react instantly to the breaking news on the CHGO Blackhawks Emergency Podcast.

00:00 Start
01:30 First reactions
09:30 Quality starts
11:55 Kyle Davidson
15:00 Next new deals

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