Florida Panthers Sign Final Piece from Stanley Cup Champs

The Florida Panthers signed their final remaining piece from their 2025 Stanley Cup championship on Thursday with Mackie Samoskevich taking a one-year contract.

Samoskevich’s deal is for just $775,000 — putting the Panthers $3.75 million over the salary cap per PuckPedia.

Florida has also reached its 23-man roster limit.

All NHL teams are allowed to be as much as 10 percent above the salary cap until the start of the season.

As for Samoskevich, last year was his first full NHL season playing 72 games. He scored 15 goals with 31 points in a season in which he started mostly playing on the fourth line but moved up into the top-6 as the year went along.

Samoskevich started the playoffs on the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, but ended up being replaced by Game 4 of the fourth line.

After playing in Game 2 against Toronto, Samoskevich was a healthy scratch the remainder of the postseason.

“A little disappointed at first, but I took a step back and realized how lucky I am to be a part of this group, to be in this locker room,” Samoskevich said after a practice day during the Stanley Cup Final.

“This is so much fun to be around, even if you’re not playing. I have to learn some things, and I think that will be good for me down the road. This is not going to be a bad thing. As much as I would like to be part of this on the ice, it is going to make me better.”

As far as the contract goes, Samoskevich was not offer-sheet eligible; after signing or just one year, he will be after this season ends.

Samoskevich, who was Florida’s first-round pick in 2021 (24th overall), spent two seasons at the University of Michigan before joining the Panthers and spending much of the 2023-24 season at Charlotte.

With Samoskevich signed, the Panthers appear set for the start of the season — depending on whether Tkachuk has surgery or not.

If Tkachuk does have surgery and misses a substantial amount of time at the start of the season, Samoskevich could replace him on Florida’s second line.

Florida is bringing back 14 of its top forwards from Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final plus six of seven defensemen with Nate Schmidt signing for three years in Utah.

2024 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2025

FLORIDA PANTHERS

UP NEXT

• NHL Free Agency: Opened June 1
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September, Wesley Chapel
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Starts Sept. 21 @ Nashville (doubleheader)
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)