Kraken Acquire Panthers Wing Mackie Samoskevich | Seattle Kraken

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.”