The Seattle Kraken have made their first big splash of the offseason, acquiring right wing Mackie Samoskevich in a trade with the Florida Panthers. In return, the Kraken traded the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 draft. The conditional pick will be either the Columbus Blue Jackets’ or Winnipeg Jets’ second-rounder, whichever ends up being the higher selection.
Samoskevich is a 23-year-old Connecticut native who spent two years at the University of Michigan, including one season with Kraken center Matty Beniers.
“Mackie is a talented young player who we are excited to bring into the fold,” said general manager Jason Botterill. “He has speed, skill and scoring ability. A Stanley Cup champion with the Panthers in 2025, Mackie’s a player who can contribute offensively and add a spark to our lineup.”
Samoskevich is a restricted free agent, so he still needs a new contract, but the Kraken now hold the young winger’s rights. Seattle will need to issue him a qualifying offer by June 30 to retain those rights and eventually sign him to a new deal. Per CapWages.com, his next contract is projected to come in around $3 million per year.
Sound Of Hockey’s own Curtis Isacke has already put together an All Shifts video of Samoskevich:
On a loaded Panthers team, Samoskevich had a bottom-six role. That said, his offensive skill earned him two minutes per game on the power play, including time on the top unit, where he scored 10 points with four goals and six assists.
Overall, Samoskevich has scored 63 points over the past two seasons, including 27 goals. The speedy winger also gets the puck on net, finishing with 161 shots, fourth most on the Panthers, while playing just 14:28 per night.
Listed at 5-foot-11, Samoskevich is not afraid to throw his body around, delivering 136 hits this past season. While that is not quite Jacob Melanson territory, as Melanson recorded 188 hits in 36 games, it ranked third on the Panthers roster and would have been third on the Kraken as well.
Samoskevich was drafted 24th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The Kraken traded a similar pick, No. 25 overall in 2026, for a promising young forward who is already established at the NHL level. The conditional second-round pick is worth the return, as any player drafted 25th overall would likely need three to four more years of development, with no guarantee of becoming a regular NHL player. Historically, 56.3 percent of 25th overall picks have played 100 or more NHL games. Samoskevich has already played 156.
At 23, Samoskevich already has a Stanley Cup to his name. Although he is still young, bringing that winning experience to the Kraken should be a positive. He has a good shot and is not shy about shooting from the faceoff dots or getting to the dirty areas in front of the net.
We will see where Samoskevich slots into the lineup after training camp, but I would expect him to get a promotion from his role in Florida. My first guess would be that he starts out on the third line with Shane Wright.
This was an excellent trade for the Seattle Kraken and strong work by general manager Jason Botterill. What are your thoughts on the trade? Leave your comments below.
Good move. Keep ’em coming please.
Right age range, I don’t know a lot about him. Hopefully he fits into the lineup well.
Hopefully they use him and don’t bury him behind Freddie Gaudreau. Can be said about several other guys on the roster, as well….
FWIW… Evolving Hockey had him at 4 x $4.7m if he extended with Florida or 6 x $5.25m elsewhere and Dom at the Athletic projected his market value to average $6.7m per over the next six seasons.
That sounds like a lot for a fringe player on the Panthers.
LOL
Two picks at a point in the draft where it’s statistically unlikely that five years from now you’d end up with a player as good as Mackie Samoskevich “sounds like a lot” for Mackie Samoskevich?
@wittmont. I assume when you say “that sounds like a lot” you’re talking about the projections rather than the trade, but I’m not sure.
Those numbers do seem high, but I think Evolving Hockey has been much more predictive than Cap Wages or AFP. Also, when 30 year old Darren Raddysh has one good season and gets 8 $8.5m and 34 year old Charlie Coyle gets 6 x $6m… I think that says something.
I’ve said it before, I think fans and the media trail the market – especially since the flat cap -which is why we so often hear, “sounds like huge overpay”. I’m not saying that’s your take, but it’s already out there and he hasn’t even signed.
Yes, I was talking about the projection of 6 x 6.7m for Samoskevich. That was the post I was replying to after all… This kid could barely crack a healthy Panthers lineup. He played all of 7 playoff games when they won the cup in 2025.
I’m fine with the trade. We heard rumours the Kraken were interested in him a while back so it was no huge surprise. He fits the mold of young up and coming NHL players that org should look for. Seattle is a very good spot for Samoskevich to develop, but Botterill did play the premium price for a player that clearly was not part of Florida’s future and on his way out. Florida used that first round pick in their package to trade for B. Tkachuk. (In theory the Kraken easily had the trade ammo to trade for Brady, but obviously he wanted to go to a genuine contender…)
In any case Botterill has not dug the hole deeper, we are basically the same team still with Samoskevich filling in for departing middle six vets. McMann is the traditional yearly middle six UFA signing. So far same old.
The next few days and the draft itself will be very interesting. I hope Botterill doesn’t pull a Chayka (2017 Arizona trade of the 7OA to NYR for Derek Stepan (27 yo at the time) and Antti Raanta (28)) to “speed up the rebuild”. Trading down to 9th to get our 25th back from Ottawa seems plausible now if they really like Rudolph or Gustafsson e.g.
I didn’t watch much Panthers and can’t honestly say I know much about the player. I think “barely crack a healthy Panthers lineup” says more about Florida than it does about him. As I understand it, from his fourth line deployment he was still third on the team in both hits AND shot on goal. I’ve mentioned my concerns about Luszczyszyn in the past, but without another analytics breakdown and my lack of viewing, I’m often forced to use his model to quantify a player. Where he and the Hockey Reference projections have the player, the trade price seems about right. I do agree that Dom’s seems a bit much but I do think – and hope – there is more player here than his deployment in Florida might reflect. I think that’s what a lot if folks actually think as well.
McMann seems a bit more “iffy”. Yes, he’s 30 AND a late bloomer with a limited track record. On the other hand, unlike Rantanen in Carolina, he demonstrated he can play with his new team – so that’s something. The money is fine (I wish it was less) and the term is definitely longer than I’d care for, but I honestly think this is where the market is. It doesn’t feel like the sort of overpay they threw at Panarin, and yet he was still willing to sign in Seattle. With both Schwartz and Tolvanen likely departing I’m good with the fit, but yes, another middle-six 30 year old signed too long.
Lastly, they both “shoot the puck”, that’s for sure.
Go Kraken!!!
Wittmont, at least he’s young and has the potential to continue to improve. I’m not sure he will and most likely going to be a mid tier player. I’d much prefer they take a shot at a player like him then sign another Marchment but free agency hasn’t opened up yet 😂
As far as Bradley I feel he wanted to play in a Red state with his brother. I’m surprised the sens kept him as long as they did after the Olympics…. What a pathetic excuse for a human.
Seems high, I could see it if signing into his free agency years which 6 year deal would do. He could go that route, but I am thinking more like 2 year deal. He does not have aribtration rights either, so would be hard for me seeing the Kraken commiting to a 6 year deal.
The comp to me would be the deal Carolina signed Jackson Blake to after his first full season. I don’t know what kind of term they’re going to settle on but I’ll be surprised – and I’m surprised (and wrong) all the time – if it’s 2 x $3m. I also thought there was no way McMann was re-signing.
I would like to see us commit to 6. Why not? He’s a good player. Also why trade a first round pick the lock a young player up for two years? You need to be all in.
Great trade. Love the player and the age.
I’m good with the trade. Increases the likelyhood that we are done with Schwartz and ET. Creates some playing time for another youngster (fingers crossed), and the cost like mentioned was about the same as an offer sheet while using other resources than our own picks. Clears the way to leverage them as needed, if needed.
The paid price is banking on them unlocking some upside, but I’m happy to see them take a swing on a young promising player. Saw somewhere that an offer sheet probably would’ve been a first and a third, doing things this way guaranteed that the first would be this years 25th vs one of our own picks.
The paid price is more indicating the Kraken think he’s an offer sheet candidate and in that view it was about the right price. Offer sheet would have required our first next year which is more than likely going to be higher than the higher of Winnipeg and Ottowa.
Tidy piece of work and we signed McMann at a reasonable AAV. It’s that exciting time of year before the summer lull.
What AAV? Didn’t see. Just saw that it was six years, which, yikes.
Looks like $5.75M for 6 years for a player who just turned 30 and had a an obviously unsustainable season. How does this contract line up at all with this team’s projected window?? This is why nobody can figure out the direction of this team. It’s as if they sign aging mediocre free agents so that they can pick in the 5-10 range instead of the 1-5 range. It’s bad business and frankly stupid. Do they not realize how bad and old the team is? Are they that desperate for a few more meaningless regular season wins?
Great contract for a guy who just turned 30 and showed clear signs that this wasn’t just an unsustainable season. Very clearly lines up with with a team that wants to emphasize speed and give youth a veteran or two to work with. The AAV is also low enough that with the expected dramatic cap expansion over the coming years this contract would be very easy to move on from if it doesn’t work out.
Building a roster involves taking risks Boist, the only major risk here is term, and it feels reasonable given the cap increase.
Except the veteran to youth ratio has been very high for a misfiring team. Hopefully they finally shed a LOT of vets this summer. The team still has Eberle, Stephenson, McMann, Gaudreau, plus maybe a Tuch or similar target, to “help” the kids at forward. If they keep McCann that’s two lines worth of vets to support Catton, Wright, Beniers, Kakko, Samoskevich, Winterton and Melanson. And really only Catton is true kid of those players. That’s ridiculous for a team that is at best a fringe playoff team in a weak conference.
Nyman needs the space to develop his offensive game at the NHL level and hit his full upside. Wright needs to be promoted above Lambert’s pet Stephenson for the same reason. And so on.
The Kraken are not the vet laden Panthers at the peak of their window of contention. The Kraken need to grow a team that even has a window of contention. Putting brakes on that process serves no purpose.
When you compare them to a “young” team like Anaheim, Seattle actually iced more guys under 25 AND less guys over 30 last season. Where those guys are deployed in the lineup is, however, a huge difference. To me, the reality seems to be they aren’t going to ice an entire lineup of kids and the ones they have are not talented enough to not only play in the NHL, but also up the lineup.
Great contract. Fantastic McMann is coming back.
Ignore the 30 goal season because that’s not the goals we paid for (or he’d be getting a lot more money). He’s a consistent 20 goal pace player over three seasons. He’s slightly less PPG as Schwartz for reference. Comparable pts per 60 to Eberle.
5.75m x 6
6 years for a 30y/o = here we go again. I feel like a broken record so Ima shut up.
Sometimes people who constantly find themselves wrong take that as a challenge to maybe question if they’re thinking correctly. Others just stay mad.
Term doesn’t matter. By the time the contract ends the cap is over 130 million and you’re paying him today’s Schwart dollars respectively.
It does matter, it becomes more an issue if you want the player in the lineup anymore. If you don’t it’s unlikely that another team would want him as well and you’re stuck with a player that doesn’t fit. Any longer contract is a gamble unless it’s a younger player. I’m not saying that this will be the case with McMann just longer contracts with older players in general. I’m a little concerned about what they will be offering Alex because it will be a lot of money for a long time, could be a scary contract. But hell the Kraken have shown they have no problem overpaying for long term contracts why not keep it up because we all know Alex is our missing link to a long cup run.
The thing is… the team doesn’t just get to choose the term. They could certainly just not sign players if they don’t like the term. It seems to me, however, that all teams have to make these “compromises”. Does anyone really think Bill Zito wanted to lock up Marchand until age 42?
I know this is a simple idea, but it really feels like folks just breeze past this.
The history of the league has showed you to be incorrect. This contract value just like Stephenson’s if you need to. If you don’t want to be corrected, I’d suggest not replying to my comments with bad takes. (Not even gonna bother destroying your ignorant take of the Krakens history of overpaying on long contracts)
That’s just wrong
McMann? I thought free agents didn’t want to come here!?!?
So the Kraken have a full roster under contract for next season and still have $22.5m left to spend.
let me see, speed toughness and scoring ability at 23, I am in all the way on this
The third line context means a lot for Shane Wright. Clearly they believe in him but if he can’t put together a complete season with Samoskevich on his line, then I don’t think he has a future with the team. This should be evident mid season.
With that said, the support scoring line has massive upside.
Do they really believe in him? The rumor that he is available has been around for a while and is persistent (Pagnotta just reiterated this very rumor).
I can only assume so. I know there’s rumors and rightfully so. He looked sloppy last year and in a system that is detailed by mistakes you can understand the thought of moving on from him. But they have to make it work on the ice. The return on him is not going to favor the Kraken, not in the slightest. So do they actually believe in him or are they acting like they do out of necessity? Doesn’t matter. Seems to me as thought the organization is giving him the support he needs while holding him accountable. Call that belief or whatever you want.
Btw I dont listen to anything or ready anything other than SOH and whatever is written by Geoff Baker and co. Rumors are just rumors. These guys make their living off half truths all the time.
This is pure nonsense… but when I read Geoff Baker’s write up I’m curious what it is that convinced McMann this is the place to sign? Regardless of what some folks may say, this wasn’t a massive overpay and so why not test free agency? Why sign with a team that most of their “biggest fans” think is run by incompetent fools?
Right now they can ice a full roster and they still have $20m in cap… so is there something in the works? Like I said, pure nonsense, but something here isn’t adding up. Like Nino says, nobody wants to sign here, yet McMann actually sounded excited about the opportunity. Is he just another “know nothing” hockey professional?… or do we really think he couldn’t get 6 x $5.75m from a “contender” or an “up and commer”? Or does he actually believe – contrary to us couch coaches – that this team actually has a future?
Curious…
Is that true even with Schwartz, Tolvanen and Oleksiak all walking? I thought they would need a forward. Regardless, just because they have the cap space doesn’t mean they should use it.
Is it just a coincidence that Samoskevich and McMann have the same agent as Alex Tuch?
I mean, they represent Schwartz also so maybe…
The Mcmaan contract runs a bit long, but the price seems to compensate for that. The guy played really well here
The Mackie signing comes down to how well our scouting department did their work. I like trading for a 23 year old they believe in.
Just heard Darren Dreger on Ray & Dregs saying it’s his understanding that, at this point, it’s more likely than not the Stars trade Robertson.
Hmm…
It’s not unreasonable to think the Kraken saved up a lot of cap ammo to go after a big fish or two this summer. There will be competition of course.
That’s certainly what Friedman thinks. He was saying exactly that on 32 Thoughts today. Robertson (and his brother) are both represented by Andy Scott whose biggest client by number of contacts (5) is Seattle… not that it really means much.
As I mentioned earlier, just looking at the surface from the outside it’s hard to see how McMann is sounding so impressed with the organization unless there’s something we don’t know. Obviously there’s plenty we don’t know and the thing that’s getting the most chatter is Tuch… but is that it?
Stay tuned…
That contract offer promises to be hair rising. Tuch is a good player, but not a superstar exactly and he’ll be 31 by the time next season starts. He will likely be a Jamie Benn type corpse long before that contract is up.
I agree, but Dallas has managed to do okay with both Benn and Seguin’s big numbers. I’m all for whatever it takes to get Robertson – for the most part – but Tuch I’m torn on. It will definitely have to be an “overpay”… but if it’s that or nothing, I’m not sure which is worse.
How does one pronounce Samoskevich? Suh-MOS’-ka-vitch OR Sum-mus-KE’-vitch? Just curious, ‘cuz we’ll likely be saying his name a lot in the weeks and months ahead:-)