Upcoming Spencer Knight decision

[PanthersHockey1]

Unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t mind moving on from both and use all that money to shore up defense and 3rd and 4th lines.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

I’m telling ya, Buffalo is about to do something drastic.

If you’re going to move on from Knight this season, they have to be at the top of the list to try to get a good deal in.

But like others have said, if the deal isn’t worth it then you might as well hold onto him, at least until next offseason.

I will say this, if Knight goes, so goes our future plans in net. You have to address that in the next draft, as well as our defensive pipeline. And we don’t have a lot of picks.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Thought about a move for Byram but could be costly for another LD

 

[Dread Clawz]

I’m telling ya, Buffalo is about to do something drastic.

If you’re going to move on from Knight this season, they have to be at the top of the list to try to get a good deal in.

But like others have said, if the deal isn’t worth it then you might as well hold onto him, at least until next offseason.

I will say this, if Knight goes, so goes our future plans in net. You have to address that in the next draft, as well as our defensive pipeline. And we don’t have a lot of picks.

Lukkonnen has played well for them, I doubt they want Knight .

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

Lukkonnen has played well for them, I doubt they want Knight .

Idk if I’d say well. He’s been mediocre. And they’re in last place in the division.

He’s not the main reason they’re losing but something’s gotta give

 

[Panthers Propaganda]

>23 year old goalie
>36 year old guy aging in net
>Very few other viable options on the market.
>Other goalies in the pipeline/rights to playing in the VHL or MHL or sucking ass at the NCAA level.

I am in the camp of giving up on the guy comes back to bite us in the ass. Then *WE* end up being the ones with an Oilers problem of a total turd in net.

Only way I consider moving him is if another promising young RD comes back this way.

Edit: One thing that sucks is with his mental health issues he did essentially miss a year of development time.

 

[Laus723]

Keep the Bob-Knight tandem, as Knight's value isn't gonna get you what you want. Bob will need a successor soon, see how Knight does next season, he will still be a RFA , so if you want to trade him you can still trade him then and then the acquiring team still has a young goalie under control, and he might increase his value by then so that might be an asset with some reasonable value then. Buying out and throwing away a 1st round pick is dumb, when we don't have many assets anyway.

This is the only answer. Anything else is nonsensical emotions not understanding that the guys have played deep two seasons in a row and they turned it on late both times. The D has weak points as well. I trust Zito, but I don’t see him moving a guy who’s been in our system and who he sees value enough in to give him that contract.

 

[KW]

>23 year old goalie
>36 year old guy aging in net
>Very few other viable options on the market.
>Other goalies in the pipeline/rights to playing in the VHL or MHL or sucking ass at the NCAA level.

I am in the camp of giving up on the guy comes back to bite us in the ass. Then *WE* end up being the ones with an Oilers problem of a total turd in net.

Only way I consider moving him is if another promising young RD comes back this way.

Edit: One thing that sucks is with his mental health issues he did essentially miss a year of development time.

We’re not gonna end up like the Oilers because we’re not spending $50M on 4 guys like they will (McD, Drai, Bouch, Nurse). They’re have no money for a G. We’re balanced and can find an Oettinger or Saros equivalent.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

can find an Oettinger or Saros equivalent.

Where? Those are top 10 goalies. Teams would give up their entire farm for a Saros

 

[Last Rat Standing]

>23 year old goalie
>36 year old guy aging in net
>Very few other viable options on the market.
>Other goalies in the pipeline/rights to playing in the VHL or MHL or sucking ass at the NCAA level.

I am in the camp of giving up on the guy comes back to bite us in the ass. Then *WE* end up being the ones with an Oilers problem of a total turd in net.

Only way I consider moving him is if another promising young RD comes back this way.

Edit: One thing that sucks is with his mental health issues he did essentially miss a year of development time.

I agree. I'm not ready to give up on him. Watch him go to another team and he becomes a stud and it ends up being like the 2017 expansion draft

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Mildly surprised with the poll results. I think people are discounting:

A. How much 3.75 million could help this off-season
B. Ok you trust Zito and want to run it back. But what if he sucks again in2025-2026? He obviously won't be qualified at 4.5 million and then he can sign elsewhere anyways. No one would trade for the signing rights of a sub .900Sv% goalie making 4.5 million lol.

 

[Gentle Man]

The current Rags remind me of when we traded Gudbranson and the team went on a free fall. Down to the shitter defenseman player and big booming hits and handedness.

it's time to trade knight and Bob for Igor.

 

[KW]

Where? Those are top 10 goalies. Teams would give up their entire farm for a Saros

The team is well positioned on the cap side except for Bob and Knight are not good value for $, unlike the two goalies I mentioned. Panthers are now a destination. They’ll be able to find better fits than Bob and Knight if they want, could well be the next bounce back younger Varlamov type. Stolarz was one. Or someone from Europe… maybe loyalty played a big role for Zito… but unless the goalies get their shit together, 0.886 ain’t gonna get it done this season and the next.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

The current Rags remind me of when we traded Gudbranson and the team went on a free fall. Down to the shitter defenseman player and big booming hits and handedness.

it's time to trade knight and Bob for Igor.

That offseason was the worst in franchise history, followed by arguably the second worst offseason in franchise history

 

[Gentle Man]

That offseason was the worst in franchise history, followed by arguably the second worst offseason in franchise history

 

[HockeyRulez]

Still see Knight as the future. Sure he is overpaid but it would be a mistake to trade him and just have an aging Bob

 

[Dread Clawz]

Idk if I’d say well. He’s been mediocre. And they’re in last place in the division.

He’s not the main reason they’re losing but something’s gotta give

He's been good, the team is crap. Anyway he's played better than Knight so I don't think they'd waste assets bringing Knight in .

 

[Chaos2k7]

Nothing wrong with either tender that a top 4 dman wouldn't fix.

Only one more year of Bob, we will ride it out with both.

This cap crunch people are talking about doesn't really exist, we have 15 million clear with only Benny to sign and without the 5 million minimum raise on the cap.

The league has already approached the PA to negotiate a higher cap increase for next year. If Ek takes a haircut we are in a great spot with Bob's 10 milly off the books the next year too.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I said that if the team gets a great offer for Knight right now, they should take it... but I think that's fantasy, and also shaded by my pessimism about the player pulling it together. For Bill Zito -- who does apparently have faith in Knight -- he should stick to his guns and play this for the long term.

I think the goal for the Panthers should be to manage assets in such a way that the core we have is kept together as much as possible (and they are doing that) and then the team reloads to be good after the elite window has closed. The common wisdom that you have to be bad after being good is... something I think this management group should challenge.

Bill Zito has shown that he can get players to sign here for under market-value. The Panthers have shown that they can attract hungry guys looking to reestablish their careers on value contracts. This team has one of the best -- if not the best -- pro scouting organizations on the planet. And finally, we're about to shift from several years of salary freeze into several years of salary expansion, at a time when all of the Panthers' leftover buyouts and bad contracts are coming off the books.

Bill Zito says he has faith in Knight, and if he isn't just saying that for public relations purposes, then the goal should be to maximize Knight's development and get him re-signed on a team-friendly deal.

I think this management group agrees, they had the option to rebuild when Zito first came in, and he opted to improve the team aggressively instead. Also, it's plain to see now that rebuilds don't work as well as they did before. Look at Detroit, they look like they're gonna be stuck as a mid team, look at Buffalo....even Montreal who looks like one of the best rebuilds going, I mean how long until they even make the playoffs again... it's a better course of action to keep a team competitive and retool if you have to. As long as we have Barkov and Forsling, who should age very well, that's a good base to build around. Add in Chucky who's 26, Lundell who's 23, Luostarinen who's 25, and Samoskevich should develop into a core piece. And if Knight becomes a good starter, that strengthens things even more.

Then all you need is to hit on a couple blue chip prospects in the draft, and make a great signing or trade, and you're in business. And like you said, we will have the best cap situation in the league going forward the day Bob's contract ends. I think if any team can avoid a rebuild, it's this one.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Get rid of both whenever possible and find a motivated goalie. He’ll want to come here and win a ring. Forget about $10M fakes.

Who that motivated goalie would be?
is it Juuse Saros if predators decides to go rebuild or someone else

 

[KW]

Who that motivated goalie would be?
is it Juuse Saros if predators decides to go rebuild or someone else

I don’t know but for example Stoli just appeared … was obviously a good pickup … teams are always rebuilding or changing things around.

Bob had a great game last night. Can he make that consistent? Can Knight overcome his fears and let his training take over?

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Get rid of both whenever possible and find a motivated goalie. He’ll want to come here and win a ring. Forget about $10M fakes.

Can you mention any names of 2025 UFA goalies
who might want sign with Panthers to win at least one cup if Bobrovski or Knight gets traded?

Here's mine list
Kevin Lankinen ( UFA next year but is he staying to NHL )
Ville Husso ( same as Lankinen )
Kaapo Kahkonen ( same as Lankinen and Husso )

Goalies to target in a trade
Juuse Saros ( if predators goes full rebuild after this disappointing season )
U-P Luukkonen ( If Sabres decides to shake or retool their roster )

 

[Dread Clawz]

Can you mention any names of 2025 UFA goalies
who might want sign with Panthers to win at least one cup if Bobrovski or Knight gets traded?

Here's mine list
Kevin Lankinen ( UFA next year but is he staying to NHL )
Ville Husso ( same as Lankinen )
Kaapo Kahkonen ( same as Lankinen and Husso )

Goalies to target in a trade
Juuse Saros ( if predators goes full rebuild after this disappointing season )
U-P Luukkonen ( If Sabres decides to shake or retool their roster )

Husso and Kahkonen suck. They might be ok as backups but neither is a long term solution. I'm not even sure Husso is a backup.

 

[Felidae]

IMO it's a very risky move to give up on Knight right now. He still has potential to get his career in gear and become a star goaltender. As @Manc Cat mentioned, we've seen young goalies move on from our organization and become successful elsewhere. I do think Knight will figure it out eventually and I'd rather that happen here.

I know one of those goalies, Markstrom who has been a vezina finalist, was far better in the AHL than Knight has been.

Montembault had pretty bad stats in the AHL, even worse than Knight. His NHL career isn't anything to write home about either, though he's also been on crappy teams, so he's probably better than the stats suggest, and Team Canada chose him..

Am i missing anyone else?

 

[5 Hole]

What about Driedger? He was decent for us on the past.