Confirmed Signing with Link: [FLA] Mack Guzda signs ELC with the Panthers (3 years, $925k AAV, two-way)

[MMC]

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[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Good for him.

 

[VijayPatel11]

Who is this man

 

[Mike Jones]

Is he that oversized goalie they were talking about on Hockey Night in Canada a couple of weeks ago?

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Is he that oversized goalie they were talking about on Hockey Night in Canada a couple of weeks ago?

Yes. Marek mentioned a bunch of teams in connection with him, but not the Panthers, interestingly.

 

[Mike Jones]

Yes. Marek mentioned a bunch of teams in connection with him, but not the Panthers, interestingly.

Weird - you'd think he would have signed with a team where he could have had a shorter path to the big league.

 

[Static]

Kind of a strange choice for him?

 

[M2Beezy]

For some reason it seems the d should be before the z

 

[caley]

Bye Bye Spencer Knight?

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Kind of interesting this was the team him and his agent chose.

Usually you aim for teams where you have a shot at making the NHL roster.

Is Spencer Knight getting traded or getting sent down (can he pass waivers) or is he just accepting not being in the NHL this year?

 

[McDNicks17]

Kind of a strange choice for him?

Don't know if it has anything to do with it, but Florida's AHL team is a few hours from his hometown.

 

[McDNicks17]

Kind of interesting this was the team him and his agent chose.

Usually you aim for teams where you have a shot at making the NHL roster.

Is Spencer Knight getting traded or getting sent down (can he pass waivers) or is he just accepting not being in the NHL this year?

I'm a big Guzda fan from his days in Owen Sound, but he's nowhere near NHL quality yet.

He'll need a couple years in the AHL most likely, I'd say.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I'm a big Guzda fan from his days in Owen Sound, but he's nowhere near NHL quality yet.

He'll need a couple years in the AHL most likely, I'd say.

Probably have just read the Hype about him and that lead to NHL ready.

Well Florida won the 'sweepstakes'

 

[caley]

Bye Bye Spencer Knight?

To be fair, my post is slightly in jest, but there is also a lot of speculation that a Jakob Chychrun return for Arizona would be centered around Knight and picks. Seems strange to me, if all these teams are interested in him, that Guzda would sign with the one that has a 1st round pick, can't miss-goalie prospect when there's much easier path to the NHL in many other organizations...

 

[Mike Jones]

Don't know if it has anything to do with it, but Florida's AHL team is a few hours from his hometown.

Nashville's to the east.

 

[Chainshot]

Kind of interesting this was the team him and his agent chose.

Usually you aim for teams where you have a shot at making the NHL roster.

Is Spencer Knight getting traded or getting sent down (can he pass waivers) or is he just accepting not being in the NHL this year?

Knight can play in the AHL (he did on Friday for the Checkers and got the win in Rochester) and is still waiver exempt.

There is the other possibility that the Panthers have an eye for goaltending and their longer term horizon appeals to Guzda.

 

[FlaPanthers11]

Panthers lost both Montembault to MTL on waivers and Levi to Buffalo for Reinhart this off-season. Goalie depth outside of Bob and Knight is non-existent so this lets Guzda get a prime chance at an AHL spot right away and a potential NHL spot in a few years when Bob is out

 

[Richard88]

Weird - you'd think he would have signed with a team where he could have had a shorter path to the big league.

Florida have one of the best goaltender programs in the league, and he gets to be in a warm climate with low taxes.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Panthers lost both Montembault to MTL on waivers and Levi to Buffalo for Reinhart this off-season. Goalie depth outside of Bob and Knight is non-existent so this lets Guzda get a prime chance at an AHL spot right away and a potential NHL spot in a few years when Bob is out

This. There isn't really anything else to read into this. We aren't moving Knight.

 

[Brodeur]

Weird - you'd think he would have signed with a team where he could have had a shorter path to the big league.

Not many (undrafted) CHL goalies are going to be vying for an NHL roster spot immediately. Florida only has two goalies under contract for next season (Johansson/Fitzpatrick are RFAs), so they could at least promise him a shot at a decent amount of AHL starts.

Realistically I think teams were looking at Guzda more as a #4 or #5 in their organizational depth chart for 2022-23. Cal Petersen shunned the Sabres for the Kings who didn't have a ton of AHL depth and he still needed a couple full seasons before securing an NHL spot. Petersen was probably a little further along his development path than Guzda at this point.

Other teams might already have a guy or two in the same age range within the system. Marek mentioned Carolina for example, but Guzda/his agent might have figured he could get lost in the shuffle there with Eetu Makiniemi already in the AHL and if Pyotr Kochetkov came to North America.

 

[Djp]

Weird - you'd think he would have signed with a team where he could have had a shorter path to the big league.

something to remember….

we are before March 1 so first year of ELC counts now. He’s on roster and can go to A and play in playoffs. So he only have 2 yrs left on ELC after this one.

I think other teams wanted to wait till March and sign a differed contract with ATO.

 

[Mike Jones]

something to remember….

we are before March 1 so first year of ELC counts now. He’s on roster and can go to A and play in playoffs. So he only have 2 yrs left on ELC after this one.

I think other teams wanted to wait till March and sign a differed contract with ATO.

So he can't go back to Barrie for the rest of the season and still have three years remaining on his ELC?

 

[Gentle Man]

Word is Luongo was the one that scouted Levi.

Maybe he has a great eye for goaltending talent. Could be promising.

 

[123offtheglass]

Little weird with them already having Bobrovsky signed long term & Knight... Bill Zito is a menace

 

[Drew311]

All teams offered him the 3rd or 4th spot in their organization and he chose the warmest place.