Hockey season is swiftly approaching, with training camps across the league set to commence next week. The buzz is starting to brew, and several NHL clubs have hammered out final pieces of offseason business in recent days.
One of those teams is the Calgary Flames, and their latest transaction could shed some light on a future contract extension for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Let’s break it down.
Flames Sign Dustin Wolf To Long-Term Contract
After signing RFA forward Connor Zary to a three-year deal over the weekend, the Flames made another notable move on Tuesday morning by agreeing to a seven-year contract extension with goaltender Dustin Wolf.
The 24-year-old netminder is coming off a stellar season that resulted in a second-place finish for the Calder Trophy, posting a 29-16-8 record with a 2.64 goals-against average, .910 save percentage, and three shutouts in 53 starts. Not too shabby for a former seventh-round selection back in 2019.
Even though Wolf has only played 71 NHL games, the Flames were comfortable giving him a $7.5 million cap hit on his new seven-year deal, which begins in 2026-27. Through those first 71 games, Wolf has amassed a 37-23-9 record with a 2.73 goals-against average, .906 save percentage, and three shutouts.
That now takes us to how this potentially impacts the Blackhawks, and let me remind you that new starting goaltender Spencer Knight is set to become a restricted free agent next summer.
Spencer Knight’s Career Breakdown
Knight, also 24, was selected 13th overall by Florida in the 2019 NHL Draft and played his first 80 NHL games with the Panthers from 2020-25 before getting traded for Seth Jones at the deadline. Over the final month and a half of the 2024-25 season, Knight played 15 games with the Blackhawks, bringing his career total to 95 games.
Through his first 95 NHL games, Knight has a 49-33-9 record with a 2.83 goals-against average, .904 save percentage, and five shutouts. In his 15 starts with the Blackhawks last year, he went 5-8-2 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.
When comparing Knight’s career stats to Wolf’s, both are in the same ballpark in terms of goals-against average and save percentage. But it’s never as simple as just looking at the numbers — the situation plays a factor, too.
Knight has the edge in NHL games and has been in the league longer, but he’s still the more unproven commodity as a true No. 1 option between the pipes. Before getting dealt to Chicago, most of Knight’s tenure with Florida was spent playing behind a juggernaut squad while serving as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup. He never started more than 27 games in a single season with the Panthers.
Wolf, on the other hand, was a focal point in the Flames’ success this season as their starter, and he nearly helped them sneak into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the sample size is still relatively small in that role, Wolf has been the more impactful player at the NHL level between the two.
Projecting Knight’s Extension
Forecasting Knight’s next contract in Chicago is admittedly difficult at this point because he still has much to prove as an NHL starting goalie. The 2025-26 season is a crucial one for Knight with his new team, as he will be handed the keys in net for the first time in his career. How he handles this will ultimately determine the price and length of his new deal.
For Knight to receive a similar long-term extension to what Wolf landed with Calgary, he first must prove to the Blackhawks organization that he’s the go-to guy in goal moving forward. Which, for the record, I believe he will accomplish this year. Knight has put together a splendid start to his young career, and he possesses the talent to become a long-time starter in this league. Now is his first real opportunity to show it.
Considering the number of young players the Blackhawks are expected to have on their blue line and roster in general this season, it’s unlikely that Knight is going to put up an elite save percentage or goals-against average. Not to say that it won’t happen, but the reality is the Blackhawks will be young and inexperienced on defense. Mistakes and blunders will happen from time to time.
I only bring this up to point out that it will be difficult for Knight to make the same leap Wolf did in 2024-25 to earn his big payday. However, the way in which Knight steadies the ship through the unavoidable bumps in the road will likely tell the Blackhawks more about his future than stats will.
With a $4.5 million cap hit currently, Knight very likely gets a raise on his next contract, especially with the NHL salary cap rising. Guessing right here, right now — I’ll go with a five-year extension for Knight between $6.5-7 million per year. Not too far off from what Wolf just inked in Calgary.
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