Kraken Acquire Panthers Wing Mackie Samoskevich

Kraken general manager Jason Botterill has been looking to bolster the “shooter mentality” within his team’s forward ranks and hopes the addition Sunday of Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich does exactly that.
With this week’s NHL Draft in Buffalo upcoming, the Kraken GM used the lesser of his two first round picks to acquire Samoskevich, 23, a onetime 24th overall selection by Florida in 2021 who just completed his second full Panthers campaign. The Kraken also sent Florida a conditional second round pick in 2027 in return for a winger who once teamed with centerman Matty Beniers at the University of Michigan ahead of winning the Stanley Cup as a rookie with Florida in 2025.

“For me, there’s the fact that, at such a young age, he’s been able to win a Stanley Cup already, and he’s been a part of a very successful organization in Florida,” Botterill said. “I just love his age, love his speed and I love his shot. So, I think he’ll fit in very well with the style of play that we’re trying to play on an everyday basis here.”
Botterill still has a No. 7 overall pick for the first round of the draft next Friday after sending Florida his No. 25 overall selection, acquired from Tampa Bay along with a 2027 first round pick last year when the Kraken dealt forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Lightning. The conditional second rounder sent to the Panthers will be the higher of the Winnipeg or Columbus picks in next year’s draft, which the Kraken previously acquired in trades that sent Brandon Tanev to the Jets and Mason Marchment to the Blue Jackets. 
Samoskevich, a native of Newtown, Connecticut whose “Mackie” nickname evolved from a twin sister trying to pronounce his Matthew birthname as toddlers, brings above average speed off transition play so important to the Kraken system. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder is also very good on zone entries and boasts an impactful shot from the right side of the ice, an element the Kraken wanted to bolster and now should with a player that scored 12 goals and added 20 assists last season to go with 15 goals, 16 assists as a rookie.

Having a former college teammate in Beniers also won’t hurt Samoskevich’s transition on to a new team.
“I just think it’s easy from a familiarity standpoint coming to a new organization,” Botterill said. “It just makes the transition all that much easier. I know Matty speaks very highly of Mackie, his style of play and the person he is, too.”

Beniers and Samoskevich played for the Wolverines together in 2021-22, when the Kraken center was a sophomore and the incoming Panthers’ winger was a freshman.

“He’s got an elite shot,” Beniers said Sunday after the trade. “Really good stick handling skills. He’s definitely got some skill so that will be a lot of fun to add to our squad with that really quick (shot) release.”

On a personal note, he remembers Samoskevich as a player that was always upbeat around the rink.
“He’s a funny guy – a goofy guy,” Beniers said. “He keeps it light always. Nothing’s ever too serious. Those are fun guys to be around, especially in a long season.”

But Beniers also remembers Samoskevich being serious about rounding out areas of his game to evolve beyond a “skill-speed guy” into more of a complete player. Those aspects, he added, mesh well with elements the Kraken seek from all players when it comes to two-way play at both ends.

The advanced analytics for Samoskevich have always been very favorable, with him ranking among the upper echelons of NHL players for shots taken per 60 minutes of play.

Top right-handed Kraken shooters include Jordan Eberle, Freddy Gaudreau and Shane Wright among forwards and Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson on the defensive side. But the Kraken had felt lefty-heavy and now hope Samoskevich can balance things out from the right side and build off his youthful totals to-date, especially if afforded more ice time beyond the 14:28 per game managed last season with the two-time defending Cup champions.

The restricted free agent earned $775,000 last season, and Florida would have needed to make a qualifying offer of $813,750 to keep him.

Botterill said he’s yet to speak with Samoskevich’s representatives about how his restricted free agency will be approached this summer and whether any multi-year extension will be attempted.

“Those are things we’ll certainly look at with them,” he said.
The team will also look at exactly where Samoskevich slots into the lineup, almost certainly somewhere on the top three lines and perhaps the top two trios.

“You’re just trying to give options to (coach) Lane (Lambert) and the coaching staff,” Botterill said. “We pride ourselves on being a four-line team, so I’ll leave it up to Lane and the coaching staff on where Mackie fits into the mix and stuff. But we think that – especially with that right shot – we’ve talked about lot about getting more pucks to the net, more of a shooter mentality, and that’s certainly what Mackie brings.”