The NHL is a league built on unpredictability, where a single contract can send shockwaves through front offices across North America.

When the Chicago Blackhawks stunned the hockey world this morning by locking down Spencer Knight with a massive $17.5 million extension, it wasn’t just a headline—it was a move that quietly shifted the balance of negotiations everywhere.

Suddenly, teams are reevaluating their own strategies, wondering how this bold gamble might affect their plans and budgets in the months ahead.

But the real intrigue lies beyond Chicago’s risk. Beneath the surface, the ripple effect of Knight’s new deal could be felt most acutely by another franchise—one with its own young, unproven goaltender on the verge of a breakout.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, with Arturs Silovs entering the final year of his contract, now face a fascinating dilemma. Will the precedent set by Knight’s payday force Pittsburgh’s hand? Could Silovs be next in line for a lucrative deal, even before he’s had a chance to truly prove himself as a starter?

As teams adjust to a rising salary cap and shifting market dynamics, the stakes couldn’t be higher. What happens next could redefine how NHL teams value their most vital position—and who gets paid.

Arturs Silovs

Photo credit: United Industrial Components

The landscape of the NHL is ever-changing, with one team’s moves having ripple effects on just about everybody else. Following Chicago’s signing of goaltender Spencer Knight this morning, teams may be looking to see how it will effect their own contract negotiations going forward.

With the salary cap expected to rise in the coming years, teams are starting to be less conservative with how they spend their money, and if they aren’t careful, it could come back to haunt them.

Blackhawks Lock Down Knight

When the Chicago Blachawks announced that they’d signed goaltender Spencer Knight to a 3-year, $17.5 million extension this morning, many in the hockey world were shocked.

The deal, which carries an average annual value of $5.83 million, is a rather large sum of money to commit to a young goaltender who’s relatively unproven at the NHL level, and has had his fair share of struggles, both on and off the ice. However, with the current market landscape in the NHL, and the promise of a rising salary cap, many teams such as Chicago have no choice but to gamble on their players delivering, otherwise they risk losing them to free agency.

Ripple Effect

At first glance this may seem like nothing more than a risky bet for Chicago, but if we dig a little further, we might find that this move will effect more teams than we thought, namely, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Much like Knight, Pittsburgh’s newest netminder Arturs Silovs is a 24-year old goaltender who’s looked good in stretches, but is otherwise unproven at the NHL level. Both have bounced around between the NHL and AHL over the past few years, and both seem to be primed for major NHL minutes this season. Also like Knight, Silovs is entering the final year of his current deal, and will likely be due for a raise if Pittsburgh hopes to retain his services.

While he’ll be fighting with longtime Penguin netminder Tristian Jarry for the starting role in Pittsburgh, we wouldn’t rule Silovs out. He stepped up big time in Vancouver when Thatcher Demko was dealing with injuries, and has proven he can steal games when needed.

Should Silovs lead and impressive 2025-26 campaign in Pittsburgh, the Penguins May have no other option than to give him a Knight-esque payday.