Blackhawks have ‘bona fide No. 1’ goalie in Spencer Knight, but Arvid Soderblom, Petr Mrazek are now in limbo

Spencer Knight has an opportunity to establish himself as the Blackhawks‘ cornerstone goalie for years to come.

But after his first morning skate Monday — hours before making his first Hawks start against the Kings — he was focused on more immediate things, like where he’s going to live in Chicago.

The 23-year-old Connecticut native said he was initially speechless Saturday when he learned he had been traded by the Panthers, who drafted him 13th overall back in 2019 and who had just promoted him into the NHL full-time this season as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, for Seth Jones.

“I was very surprised,” Knight said. “But when you turn pro, you realize that’s always a possibility… That’s the world we choose to live in as professional hockey players. I’m just happy to be here [with a] historic franchise.”

It’s surely a letdown from a team caliber standpoint, not that Knight would admit such. He had likely been mentally preparing for another playoff run with the defending Stanley Cup champions; now he finds himself on the 31st-place team in the NHL.

On the other hand, Knight was barely going to see the ice in the playoffs barring a Bobrovsky injury. Now, he’s the leading option in a crowded goalie room with Arvid Soderblom and Petr Mrazek.

If he lives up to expectations during this season’s stretch run and next season, moreover, he could secure a sizable, long-term contract when he becomes a restricted free agent in 2026.

“We’re super excited to have him be a bona fide No. 1 here,” Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said.

Knight is one of the most talented and acclaimed young goalies in the league. Although his pro career hasn’t been the smoothest so far, it hasn’t gone poorly by any means, either, with a .906 save percentage in his first 80 NHL appearances and a .937 in his last nine.

“I’m just going to bring what I’ve always brought: a positive attitude, good work ethic and work toward winning hockey,” he said. “I want to bring lots of wins to this organization.

“I’m a goalie that relies on things like skating and technical ability, but I do have the athleticism to make plays and lean on the reads and reactions. It’s about getting to that flow state and just not thinking. When you get into that, you’re really just playing the game. You’re not overly focused on your technique or your athletic ability. You just revert back to your habits.”

With Knight in the fold, the Hawks’ long-term goaltending outlook has brightened, but their short-term goaltending situation has become more complicated.

Soderblom will back up Knight on Monday with Mrazek the odd man out — and resident ghost Laurent Brossoit still on injured reserve, as he has been all season, with a knee injury. That pretty well establishes the current hierarchy, since Soderblom is eight years younger than Mrazek and has decidedly out-performed him this season.

Soderblom has a .906 save percentage and had taken over the “1A role,” playing all but one period of the Hawks’ last four games. Mrazek has an .890 save percentage overall this season and an .866 since the start of December.

The tricky aspect is Mrazek and Brossoit are each under contract for 2025-26 — with substantial salary-cap hits of $4.25 and $3.3 million, respectively — whereas Soderblom is a pending RFA.

The Hawks would probably love to trade Mrazek before the deadline Friday, since that would free up the logjam. But it’s unlikely they’ll be able to find a taker for his contract, especially since they don’t have any retention slots left this season.

Soderblom said Monday he hasn’t had any contract extension talks yet but would “love to be a part of” what the Hawks are trying to build. He insisted the three-goalie rotation won’t create any tension.

“[Knight is] a teammate, so we’ll take care of him and we’ll all push each other to get better and compete for the starts,” Soderblom said. “That’s just a healthy relationship. That’s how it’s supposed to be on a team. You’re friends, but you’re also competing for ice time.”