Critics of Spencer Knight's signing silenced following NHL ranking reveal

It's been a good start to the year for the Chicago Blackhawks, who are back over the .500 mark after a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks last night. They were boosted by a hat trick by Tyler Bertuzzi, the 2nd of his career, along with an empty net goal from Connor Bedard in his hometown.

They have also been getting good goaltending out of Spencer Knight, who has the potential to be Chicago's 1st true starter since Corey Crawford. And his latest stats will be a good way for him to silence his critics.

Based on the latest ranking, Knight comes in at No. 2 overall in total goals saved above expected, trailing only Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal and coming in ahead of Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Jakub Dobes of The Montreal Canadiens.

Spencer Knight was taken by the Florida Panthers with the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and he would play the 1st several years of his career in the organization, split between the NHL and AHL.

But he would be traded to the Blackhawks last year as part of the major Seth Jones trade, and then Chicago would later re-sign Knight to a 3 year extension.

So far in his 1st full year wearing a Blackhawks sweater, Knight is 5-3-2 with an impressive .919 SV%.

It's obvious that the Blackhawks think very highly of Knight that they would give him the multi-year extension, and they hope that he'll be able to help lead them closer to a playoff spot, something they haven't achieved since 2020.