Seattle Kraken acquire Mackie Samoskevich in trade with Florida Panthers
The Kraken made their first trade of the summer Sunday, acquiring 23-year-old forward Mackie Samoskevich from the Florida Panthers. He's set to reunite with college teammate Matty Beniers.
The Kraken paid the Panthers' high asking price and dipped well into the draft capital they've built up during a three-year playoff drought. Seattle sent Florida both a first- and second-round draft pick. The late 2026 first-rounder is the one the Kraken acquired from Tampa Bay at the 2025 trade deadline for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, and the second-rounder is in 2027 and conditional. It will become the higher selection of the second-round picks Seattle got from Winnipeg and Columbus in trades.
The new recruit will need a new contract soon. Samoskevich is a restricted free agent this summer. He last signed a one-year deal with a cap hit of $775,000. He shares his agency, Bartlett Hockey, with pending Kraken unrestricted free agent Jaden Schwartz and Bobby McMann, who signed a six-year extension in Seattle later Sunday.
This looks like unfinished business for the Kraken. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman linked the young player with Seattle several months ago, but a deal never materialized then.
Meanwhile this trade led to speculation the Panthers were cooking up something big, and indeed hours later they reunited the Tkachuk brothers in Florida. The Ottawa Senators agreed to send Brady, their captain, to the Panthers to join Matthew. Florida flipped that No. 25 overall pick they had just acquired from Seattle to Ottawa in the trade.
The Kraken still hold the No. 7 overall pick in next weekend's entry draft.
Samoskevich put up 32 points (12 goals) in 77 regular-season games with the Panthers last year, which was only his second full NHL season. He averaged 14:28 of ice time while playing mostly bottom-six minutes and going out with Florida's second power-play unit. He had the team's third-most hits with 136 and put 161 shots on goal.
Samoskevich is 5-foot-11 and a native of Newtown, Connecticut. He was originally drafted by the Panthers in the first round (24th overall) of the 2021 NHL draft. He has two sisters who are also active in the sport, Melissa and Madison. Twin sister Maddy just finished her rookie season with the Professional Women's Hockey League's Vancouver Goldeneyes, while Melissa coached at the University of Delaware last season.
Mackie followed his siblings to prep school Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota, then joined the Chicago Steel of the U.S. Hockey League in 2018-19. He spent two years at the University of Michigan and played with a fellow Matthew who doesn't go by Matthew, Seattle top-line center Beniers, in 2021-22. Beniers led that team in scoring with 43 points to Samoskevich's 29.
Samoskevich stayed at Michigan the following season while Beniers won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year with the Kraken in 2023. Samoskevich spent a year in the American Hockey League before cracking the Panthers' roster. He has 63 points, including 27 goals, in 156 career regular-season NHL games and appeared in four 2025 playoff games, helping Florida to its second of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
A Kraken front office seeking more scoring talent clearly sees him as a breakout candidate, one worthy of that relatively large haul.
Mackie is a talented young player who we are excited to bring into the fold," Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said in a team release. "He has speed, skill and scoring ability.
"Mackie's a player who can contribute offensively and add a spark to our lineup.
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This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 4:52 PM.