Former Florida Panthers winger Mackie Samoskevich talked about his trade to the Seattle Kraken, his time in Florida, and what he can bring to his new club.
On Sunday, the Florida Panthers made two massive trades. First, they sent Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken, then used the assets from that deal to land Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators.
We’ve heard from Tkachuk about his excitement about joining the Panthers organization and his hopes and aspirations now with the club. But we finally got to hear what Samoskevich, Kraken GM Jason Botterill, and others had to say about joining the 23-year-old Kraken and reuniting with a former college teammate in Matty Beniers.
“I just think it’s easy from a familiarity standpoint coming to a new organization,” Botterill said to NHL.com. “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.”
During his brief time with the Panthers, Samoskevich utilized his speed and skill to create offense. In college, Samoskevich’s lethal shot found the back of the net more often than not, but in the NHL, it was a struggle for him to beat goaltenders.
In 156 games with the Panthers, Samoskevich scored 12 goals and posted a shooting percentage of just nine percent.
Samoskevich hopes to improve his game in the off-season and enter training camp feeling at his best. One way he plans to do that is by bringing the experience he gained with the Panthers. The Panthers played a structured game that asked a lot from their players.
“It’s something that obviously works at the end of the year, and playoffs and whatnot,” Samoskevich said of the Panthers play style. “So, it’s definitely something I want to bring over to Seattle, and hopefully win a ton of games for sure.”
He also understands that before he can begin his Kraken career, he needs to come to terms with the Kraken on a contract extension.
“I’ll leave that to the agents, that’s their job,” said the former 24th overall pick in 2021. “I just got to worry about having a good off-season and making sure my body’s ready come training camp.”
There wasn’t an avenue for Samoskevich to succeed in Florida, but a new home in Seattle will hopefully do him well.
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