Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight practiced with the team at their development camp this week for the first time since he entered the NHL/NHL Players’ Association player assistance program back in February.

Knight, 22, spoke to reporters Wednesday in Coral Springs, Fla., but declined to explain what led him to enter the assistance program.

“I don’t think it’s the right time to address anything on that front,” Knight said. “I’ll do that when I feel the time is right. But regardless, I’m just happy to be here and just have fun. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Under the terms of the player assistance program, Knight continued to be paid while he received treatment. The program is meant to assist players who are experiencing issues with mental health, substance abuse and other problems.

Knight — a former first-round draft pick who made his NHL debut at just 20 years and 1 day old — was simply glad to be back on the ice with his team.

“It’s been great, I think, just coming back down here and just being in a familiar area,” Knight said. “I know a few of these guys already, whether it’s former teammates or guys maybe I played against. So it was good to see them, meet a few new faces and there’s a lot of good talent here, too.”

While Knight was in the program, his Panthers made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final, knocking off the record-setting Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes to get through the Eastern Conference as the second wild card. The Vegas Golden Knights beat Florida in five games to win the Cup.

“I think it was just one of those things that it was really cool to see,” Knight said. “But (if) there’s one thing I learned from watching it is that you really don’t know, but if you work hard and you kind of just stick to what you can do and just embrace whatever moment you’re in (you can have success).

“Because there are times in the season when you’re just going to be like, ‘We can’t win a game,’ and you’re like, ‘We might not make the playoffs.’ But then, you just keep working, keep working, keep working and then it eventually pays off, and I think the Panthers’ example of that in the playoffs was the perfect example of it.”

Knight has played in 57 regular-season games (49 starts) over parts of three seasons while paired with Florida’s No. 1 goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. He has a 32-17-6 record, 2.91 goals-against average and .906 save percentage for his young career.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Coyotes signed free agent defenseman Travis Dermott to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday.

The team did not disclose financial terms, but CapFriendly reported the deal carries an $800,000 cap hit at the NHL level.

Dermott, 26, spent last year with the Vancouver Canucks, though he only got into 11 games. He scored one goal.

Dermott is a former second-round draft pick (34th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015. In six seasons between Toronto (2017-22) and Vancouver (2022-23), he has played in 279 games and netted 55 points (14 goals, 41 assists).

–Field Level Media

St. Louis Blues backup goaltender Thomas Greiss retired Wednesday after 14 NHL seasons.

Greiss played his final season with St. Louis in 2022-23 and posted a 7-10-0 record and 3.58 goals-against average in 16 starts.

Also Wednesday, the team signed veteran forward Oskar Sundqvist to a one-year deal for $775,000, the league minimum. Sundqvist returns to the club he played with for five seasons.

Greiss posted a 162-130-37 record and 2.77 GAA in 368 regular-season games for the Blues, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, the then-Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks.

The first German-born goalie to play in 100 NHL games claimed the Jennings Trophy, along with teammate Robin Lehner, for allowing the fewest goals in the regular season with the Islanders in 2018-19.

In 2021, Team Germany declared it had cut ties with Greiss for “values contradicting with the values of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB)” following social media posts he liked and shared.

Greiss told NHL.com that he intends to stay involved with the sport.

“I’m already going to stay connected to hockey and possibly do something with one team or another,” he said. “But right now, I want to get some distance and let the rest come to me.”

Sundqvist, 29, played in 67 games last season for Detroit and Minnesota, tallying 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists). The Wild acquired him from the Red Wings on March 3 in exchange for a 2023 fourth-round draft pick.

Across eight seasons, Sundqvist has accumulated 123 points (50 goals, 73 assists) with four teams, including the Blues from 2017-22.

Sundqvist also won the 2016 Stanley Cup as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

–Field Level Media