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 24^th 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 should factor in someplace on the Kraken’s top three lines and potentially among their top two trios, bringing another right-handed shot on a team needing more of those. Top right-handed Kraken shooters include Jordan Eberle, Chandler Stephenson and Shane Wright among forwards and Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson on the defensive side, with Botterill agreeing another winger to let fly from the right side of the ice won’t hurt.

“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 a lot about getting more pucks to the net, more of a shooter mentality, and that’s certainly what Mackie brings.”

Samoskevich, a native of Newtown, Connecticut whose “Mackie” name evolved from a twin sister trying to pronounce his “Matthew” birthname as toddlers, brings above average speed to go with that right-handed shot. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder is also known for his grit and a scoring touch that saw him notch 12 goals and 20 assists last season to follow up a rookie campaign when he scored 15 and added 16 assists.

The Kraken hope Samoskevich builds off those totals, especially if afforded more ice time than the 14:28 per game he managed last season with the defending two-time Cup champion Panthers. The restricted free agent earned $775,000 last season, and Florida would have needed to make a qualifying offer of $813,750 to extend him.

Botterill said he’s yet to speak with Samoskevich’s representatives about any extension talks or how his restricted free agency will be approached this summer.

“Those are things we’ll certainly look at with them,” he said.

For now, it’s a matter of getting Samoskevich acclimated to his new team. Having a former teammate around in top line centerman Beniers, who played his final Michigan season as a sophomore when Samoskevich was a freshman there in 2021-22, certainly won’t hurt.

“I just think that it’s easier 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.”