Knight left the Panthers in February and joined the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program
Knight left the Panthers in February and joined the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program
Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito is a busy guy.
Thanks to Florida making it to the Stanley Cup Final, the team's offseason didn't begin until last week, which was the middle of June.
That gives Zito and his staff less time than any of the 31 teams that didn't win a championship to prepare for both the upcoming NHL Draft, which is next week in Nashville, and free agency, which opens a few days later on July 1.
Even with so much going on around him, Zito carved out some time and held court with the South Florida media on Wednesday inside FLA Live Arena.
He actually spoke for about 30 minutes, and we'll be getting into several things that he touched on here at The Hockey News' Panthers site in the coming days.
For now, a quick update on goaltender Spencer Knight.
Zito said he's either spoken to or texted with Knight "pretty frequently" in the time since Knight left the team in February to enter the NHL and NHLPA's joint player assistance program.
THN reported last week that Knight had since completed the program and that the team was hopeful he would return for next season.
It appears that hope has been rewarded.
Zito said Wednesday the expectation is that Knight will be back with the Panthers later this year.
"He's doing well and we expect him back in the fold in the fall," Zito told the media.
Having Knight on the ice at the start of training camp would be a welcomed sight across the board.
The 22-year-old will be entering his third full NHL season.
So far, despite coming into the best league in the world as a wide-eyed teenager and maneuvering injuries and illnesses during his first two seasons, Knight still has a 32-17-6 record to go with a 2.91 goals against average and .906 save percentage.
Considering he's still so young, hopefully the support he sought earlier this year has helped him become an even better and mentally stronger version of himself.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is Knight's health.
If he's ready, one would think getting back on the ice with his teammates would be one of the best forms of medicine for the lifelong goaltender.
We'll certainly be looking forward to seeing his infectious smile around the rink in a few months.