Confirmed Trade: [FLA/CHI] Seth Jones (26.3% retained; $7M AAV) and 2026 4th round pick for Spencer Knight and 2026 1st round pick

[Frank Drebin]

Never made sense that Florida used a 13oa pick on Knight then 2 weeks later sign Bobrovsky to a 7 year contract. I guess the bobo signing wasn't a sure thing at the time of the draft

 

[catters078]

Great outcome for Florida. They appear to be the team to beat in the East again.

 

[Ratsreign]

The thought briefly crossed my mind when I saw Bob starting vs the Flames today...
“Nah, I don’t think they’ll do that”

Bit of a surprise

 

[Guyute]

Watch Knight play 5 games and then get back to me. He's solid, has all the tools you need, and is only freaking 23.

The average goalie looks great on a good team. Let’s see how he does on a horrible team for a full season.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Goalies typically don’t even return that much in trades and knight was signed for another year at 4.5per when he’s never really earned it. I didn’t even know if he was realistically that tradeable, or if so, how much value he’d possibly have with no retention. And the 1st isn’t even our ‘26? It’s the ‘27 1st? And Chicago ate 25% of that contract with 5yrs remaining? We didn’t have to give up the ‘26 1st or Samoskevich? Yeah, I’m really happy with this, I’ve been advocating trading knight for a couple years now

I wish knight all the best though. He started this year horrid again but came around and was having a solid season, albeit with limited starts. Hope he figures it out and does well there

Kevin Lankinen makes 4.5. Knight is a hell of a lot better and younger, with a lot more upside . He definitely has value.

 

[TotalHomer]

The retention is a major factor, this is true. But Knight is gonna be so good for such a long time

Consistency issues but when he's on he's a wall. The ceiling is really high. But he was the only piece that could be moved, sucks but it is what it is.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I got mixed feelings on this one.

On one hand that top 3 D is looking strong for this year although I do wonder what it means for Ekblad long-term.

On the other if something happened to Bob who is the 2nd option and who is the long-term goalie now?

 

[kevsh]

"Seth is an elite veteran defenceman and a proven leader in our league,” said Panthers GM Bill Zito.

Okay, I get that Jones is pretty good, no argument here, but if he's truly "elite" why is Chicago retaining? His salary seems just about right for a top d-man and so then would the deal be without the retention.

 

[SympathyForTheDevils]

Jones at 7M isn't so bad, in a world where Brady Skjei gets that much in UFA.

The real cost for the Panthers is Knight. Florida is now a contender in the middle of their contention window who are relying on a 36 YO goalie who's not having a great year. And AFAIK there's no one in the system who could replace him in the near future. I guess Zito looked at last year's playoffs and thought "we don't need great goaltending to win".

And he might very well be right, but it might be uncomfortable for the Panthers when they wind up having to play goalie roulette in a couple years.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Consistency issues but when he's on he's a wall. The ceiling is really high. But he was the only piece that could be moved, sucks but it is what it is.

I would do the trade again, but yeah losing Knight sucks big time. I think he had started getting over his consistency issues. In the new year, his gas was under 2.00 and his svp was over .930. I can't remember the exact numbers but you can check that if you want. They said it during the Nashville game.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Mid goalies are tough to project. Knight could be good or horrible. It’s a crapshoot. The 1st rounder will be basically a 2nd rounder given the draft position. Chicago retaining $2.5 for 5 years should be worth a 1st rounder in and of itself. Jones is a legit #3 D.

Davidson doesn’t know what he’s doing.

The rangers just got a 2nd for Ryan freaking Lindgren. This is a horrendous return for Jones.

Legit #3? Jones will be leading their team in ice time probably every game moving forward. He will be on 1st PP and probably 1st PK too.

Not sure how you are comparing this to the Lindgren deal though, this is an unprotected 1st (if in 2027) and a still U24 high potential goalie.

Also calling the 1st "basically a 2nd rounder" should also apply to the 2nd that Colorado gave the Rangers no? Is that not "basically a 3rd rounder?"

 

[JoeSakic13]

Zito also knows Seth from his Columbus days, he’s aware of who Jones is.

And yet he still wanted him in his lineup.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

They arnt gonna spend to the cap for 5 more years? That’s a long time.

With how fast the cap is going to rise there will be a lot of teams that don't spend up to the cap rather consistently.

 

[Sarava]

Good on the Hawks to get rid of him when he finally played decent for a few weeks. With the increased cap, 25% just isn't going to matter much.

 

[Tawnos]

Legit #3? Jones will be leading their team in ice time probably every game moving forward. He will be on 1st PP and probably 1st PK too.

Not sure how you are comparing this to the Lindgren deal though, this is an unprotected 1st (if in 2027) and a still U24 high potential goalie.

Also calling the 1st "basically a 2nd rounder" should also apply to the 2nd that Colorado gave the Rangers no? Is that not "basically a 3rd rounder?"

The 2nd the Rangers are most likely getting is their own that they’d traded a couple of years ago.

I don’t disagree with your overall point though.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Ekblad probably told they will not sign him.


exactly. They are win now (again) mode for a while.

I think they'll still sign him. He was the only RHD on the roster, so Jones was a need. It also allows Ekblad cut his minutes down as Ek plays 1st unit in all situations.

 

[Ratsreign]

lol Florida gets FLEECED

as is tradition

 

[Esq]

Legit #3? Jones will be leading their team in ice time probably every game moving forward. He will be on 1st PP and probably 1st PK too.

Not sure how you are comparing this to the Lindgren deal though, this is an unprotected 1st (if in 2027) and a still U24 high potential goalie.

Also calling the 1st "basically a 2nd rounder" should also apply to the 2nd that Colorado gave the Rangers no? Is that not "basically a 3rd rounder?"

Jones is just not a reliable 1 PP / 1 PK guy anymore. It’s not for lack of effort.

 

[violaswallet]

Legit #3? Jones will be leading their team in ice time probably every game moving forward. He will be on 1st PP and probably 1st PK too.

Not sure how you are comparing this to the Lindgren deal though, this is an unprotected 1st (if in 2027) and a still U24 high potential goalie.

Also calling the 1st "basically a 2nd rounder" should also apply to the 2nd that Colorado gave the Rangers no? Is that not "basically a 3rd rounder?"

He's going to play as the 3. Forsling-Ekblad is our top pair. Mikkola-Jones is going to be sexy.

My guess is that Ekblad and Jones both will play 21-22 minutes a night now..

 

[Pablo El Perro]

I like Knight, he's been solid this year, but don't mind the trade

 

[Cats2TheCup]

"Seth is an elite veteran defenceman and a proven leader in our league,” said Panthers GM Bill Zito.

Okay, I get that Jones is pretty good, no argument here, but if he's truly "elite" why is Chicago retaining? His salary seems just about right for a top d-man and so then would the deal be without the retention.

Did anyone know Sam Reinhart had 60 goal potential before he came to Florida? What did they all think about Forsling? Montour?

Zito sees things differently than everyone else.

Anyone betting against his judgment has not learned yet. Good luck.

Seth Jones is about to play the best hockey of his life. He’s locked in w the core. Zito has full faith it will work exceptionally.

 

[Laus723]

And yet he still wanted him in his lineup.

Cool.

 

[TheBeard]

In a twist completely unlike last year, both the sharks and the hawks taking terms out sucking each other.

 

[Naster Okan]

but Jones was supposed to have negative value…. I’m so confused. Whoa.

 

[TotalHomer]

Jones is just not a reliable 1 PP / 1 PK guy anymore. It’s not for lack of effort.

We have no options really at the moment, nobody is good at the back end running it. For PK we don't need him. He's probably an upgrade for the PP too.