The Montreal Canadiens should take a different route on Dobies’ contract than the Blackhawks did with Knight – Hockey Writer – Montreal Canadiens
Two young goaltenders will dominate the league for a long time: Jakub Dobes of the Montreal Canadiens and Spencer Knight of the Chicago Blackhawks. Dobes and Knight have both become starters this season after we saw their true potential, and both are only 24 years old.
Dobies and Knight are taking over the NHL
Jakub Dobes was a fifth-round pick in 2020. When he was drafted, no one knew five years later he would be the starting goaltender of the future – and the Canadiens got a huge bang for their buck. Dobes has made six starts this season and has a .930 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.97 goals-against average (GAA). Dobes has a .911 save percentage in high-danger chances.
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Spencer Knight didn’t start his career with the Blackhawks, while Dobbs started his career with the Canadiens and is still there. Knight was selected by the Florida Panthers with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft, but still served as Sergey Bobrovsky’s backup. He was traded to the Eagles in a deal that brought a 2026 first-round pick back to Chicago and defensive tackle Seth Jones to Florida State. Knight has a .914 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average in eight starts.
Although their data belongs to the same department, their contract situations are quite different. Dobes is signed only for this season and next, with an annual salary cap hit of $965,000. He signed a summer-long contract in July. Before the start of the season, Knight signed a three-year contract extension with an annual cap limit of $5.83 million starting next year; most people considered this to be a transition agreement. So that raises the question of what the Canadiens should do when Dobes gets a new deal — and the good news is they have options.
What the Canadiens should do with Dobies’ contract
Dobes is 24 years old and plays like a machine. When this two-year contract ends, he will be 26 years old and most likely (ideally) in his prime. Assume he’ll play like he’s playing now, maybe even better, and even play some playoff games, maybe even the last game or two, because that’s where the Habs are heading.
That being said, a transitional deal with Dobbs like the Blackhawks did with Knight isn’t necessary. The Blackhawks gave Knight a bridge because he had never had a full starting load before and they didn’t want to commit to a long-term plan without him mastering that. Technically, this contract is for that purpose, and it provides a good two years of watching how Dobes continues to handle the load. Negotiations should get straight to keeping him in Montreal through his prime.
First, the duration should easily be five, six, or seven years. As they compete for the title, Dobes will be one of their main components throughout. Montreal can’t afford to lose him, and keeping him locked up long-term will be key. That would put him back to 31, 32 or 33 years old.
As always, the issue is money. Back to Knight — if he keeps improving, he’ll be a very low-paid goaltender at $5.83 million — and that’s exactly what we’d expect Dobes to do; improve. So, he’ll be worth more than that, and with the salary cap going up, he’s almost guaranteed to get even more. Canadiens players have been taking some pay cuts recently, such as Ryan Hutson’s extension.
The fairest and most likely contract extension for Dobes currently seems to be six to seven years at a price of about $7 to $8.5 million. It continues a trend of Montreal players accepting more team-friendly deals (if that continues), and would also make Dobbs one of the highest-paid goaltenders in the league if he reaches around $8.5 million. With everything Dobes brings to the table, this contract will look good on the books.
