In addition to extinguishing the Calgary Flames yesterday, the Florida Panthers completed a huge trade, acquiring defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Florida also received a fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft.
General manager Bill Zito wanted an experienced right-handed defenseman to bolster his top-four and he got one in Jones, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, who comes to Sunrise with 839 games under his belt and a total of 432 points to his credit.
Jones, who grew frustrated during his time in Chicago, is in the third season of an eight-year, $76 million contract ($9.5 million AAV) that he signed with the Original Six club on July 28, 2021, five days after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks will retain 26 percent of Jones’ salary.
Despite wanting out of the Windy City, the 30-year-old Jones has produced nine goals and 27 points in 42 games with the lowly Blackhawks this season. His 0.64 points per game immediately leads all Panther defensemen.
The cost of adding Jones for Florida’s defense of its Stanley Cup title was Knight, a player I think all Panthers fans were rooting for to take the reins from Sergei Bobrovsky in the near future.
Selected by former Florida GM (and Blackhawks defenseman) Dale Tallon with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Knight was the No. 1 ranked goaltender in North America at the time, thanks to his impressive play with the US National Development program.
After being drafted, Knight spent two highly-successful years at Boston College, putting up back-to-back seasons with save percentage above .930. Knight backstopped his country to a Gold Medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship, blanking Canada 2–0 in the final while earning the nod for Player of the Game.
This season, Knight, who didn’t play in 2023-24 after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, is 12-8-1 with a 2.40 GAA, .907 save percentage and two shutouts in 23 games. I mentioned a few weeks ago that it looked like the lights had gone fully on for the 23-year-old and that he was playing every bit like a bona-fide, starting caliber NHL goalie.
He leaves the franchise with a 44-25-7 record and five shutouts, and was the youngest goaltender to record a win for the Panthers in the postseason when he beat the Tampa Bay Lightning with an electrifying 36-save performance in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
All the best in Chicago, Spencer. We’ll continue to pull for you.
With Jones now in the fold, the Panthers have their collective eye on a second-straight title. In Zito We Trust!