George Richards, FHN Publisher
With the Florida Panthers opening training camp on Sept. 19, Florida Hockey Now has been breaking down the team’s depth chart.
We started with the defensemen, then moved on to the team’s forwards.
Now, the Florida Panthers depth chart moves on to the goalies.
What timing, eh?
On Friday, goalie coach Robb Tallas had his day with the Stanley Cup and he brought it all around the Coral Springs/Parkland metroplex.
Today, Spencer Knight brings it to his hometown of Darien, Connecticut.
Sergei Bobrovsky gets it next week.
Not too shabby.
The Florida Panthers goaltending depth chart is a little hard to work around because, well, they have a lot of players who they like and are working with outside of the NHL and AHL.
Roberto Luongo, who brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Montreal, has his goalie department working overtime trying to unearth some talent.
They have done a pretty good job thus far.
So, without further ado, let’s look at the Florida Panthers goalie depth chart:
FLORIDA PANTHERS DEPTH CHART
GOALIES
The Starter: Sergei Bobrovsky
In previous years, Bobrovsky has come into training camp with some questions about whether he would be challenged for the starting job.
That ended last year.
Bobrovsky came into camp in 2023 with a stranglehold on the starting job after leading the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final.
That grip on the starter’s net has not waned coming into this season.
Bob is the Man.
Last season, Florida brought in Anthony Stolarz to be Bobrovsky’s primary backup.
That allowed Knight to go to AHL Charlotte and just settle into playing on a regular basis after he left the team in 2023 to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to deal with OCD.
Stolarz ended up having a career year backing up Bobrovsky, did not get hurt, and Knight spent the entire season in Charlotte before joining the team for the playoffs and serving as the third goalie.
Back to Bob: Last season was one of Bobrovsky’s best as he and Stolarz tied Winnipeg for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL, and Bobrovsky was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.
Had the Panthers swept Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, or even won in Game 5, it is likely that Bobrovsky would have won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
He did not get that, but he did get the Stanley Cup.
And he would make that trade every time.
Bobrovsky turns 36 later this month and he played a ton last season — making 82 starts. He also won 56 of those games.
Knight could spell Bobrovsky a tad as Florida tries to keep him from getting too rusty.
But Bobrovsky wants to play every game.
It will be interesting to see how Florida divides the playing time this season.
The Backup: Spencer Knight
Stolarz was able to parlay his big season with the Panthers into a two-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Florida hated to see Stolarz go, but truth is, he was a stopgap signing to allow Knight to get back in a groove.
And they are confident he did just that.
Knight is just 23 and has already has parts of three NHL seasons under his belt including two as Bobrovsky’s primary backup — where, at times, he appeared to take over as the starter.
He spent last season working closely with Leo Luongo in Charlotte and turned in a strong season for the Checkers. If Knight has been upset with being on the bench, or going to the minors to get some playing time in the past, well, he seems over all of that now.
“One thing I have learned is that I have to be cool with whatever happens,” Knight said in July.
“If you are here, great; If you are there, great. If that happens, great. That’s the approach I have to have. I know the skill I have and I don’t doubt that. The skill combined with physical capability, I think I have tremendous skill and can be one of the best goalies in this league.
“I’m still 22. The mentality of embracing the uncertainty and embrace that we don’t know what’s going to happen next. Do you think Florida thought it would be in the Stanley Cup Final in January? But they were, right? Who knows what’s going to happen but I am cool with that. I am going to be a better goalie and a better person from that.”
Knight is back in the NHL, and the Panthers are glad he is.
The No. 3: Chris Driedger
Welcome back, Driedgs.
Bobrovsky’s first season in Sunrise was an up-and-down affair and Driedger came up and settled things down for the Panthers at times — only making things look worse on Florida’s high-profile free agent signee in 2019.
Driedger spent parts of two seasons with the Panthers and played extremely well when given the chance. At the end of the 2021 season, he moved on as one of the first Seattle players taken in the expansion draft.
Injuries slowed Driedger the past couple of seasons and spent most of the past two years playing in the AHL.
He was signed to a one-year deal to replace Knight as the Charlotte starter — although one should surmise that he could push Knight a bit in training camp.
But this is not 2021 and Knight, with a $4.5 million salary, is not going back to Charlotte.
The Panthers are thrilled to have Driedger back and he could play a big role in the success of the team if something were to happen to Bobrovsky or Knight.
It is always nice to have someone in the fold whom you trust.
The Panthers trust Driedger.
The Depth: Florida has to find a backup for Charlotte as well as a starter and backup for ECHL Savannah.
Mack Guzda could be Driedger’s backup with the Checkers or he could be the go-to starter with the Ghost Pirates.
Guzda got plenty of starting experience with Charlotte two seasons ago once Alex Lyon moved up to Florida and he is still developing at 23.
Cooper Black, who at 6-foot-10 is hard to miss, signed with the Panthers out of Dartmouth and was impressive at development camp earlier this summer.
He will be with Guzda at the rookie showcase later this month and should get a lot of playing time heading into the main camp.
With the Panthers moving their ECHL team much closer to Charlotte, expect quite a bit of movement between the pipes.
If Black starts the season in Charlotte as Driedger’s backup, for instance, he still could get playing time both with the Checkers and in Savannah.
More FHN Coverage of the Stanley Cup Champion Panthers:
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