Florida Panthers Send Top Rookie to the Minors. There Is a Good Reason

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers sent top rookie Mackie Samoskevich to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte on Monday.

Relax, there is a good reason for the move.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and his wife Olga are expecting their second child any time now.

Because of that, Bobrovsky did not travel with the Panthers to Pittsburgh on Monday evening.

In order to be able to call up Chris Driedger as Florida’s No. 2 goalie behind Spencer Knight, the cap-strapped Panthers had to make a corresponding roster move.

Since Samoskevich does not have to go through waivers, this was just the simplest move to be made.

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According to coach Paul Maurice, Samoskevich understands the team’s predicament and is cool with it.

Bobrovsky could miss both of Florida’s two games in Pennsylvania, meaning Samoskevich would as well.

Both should be back with the Panthers for Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

The Charlotte Checkers do not play again until playing host to the Rochester Americans on Friday, so, Samoskevich is unlikely to play in this quick AHL stint.

Jonah Gadjovich would replace Samoskevich on the fourth line; Carter Verhaeghe would likely go back up on the top power-play unit where Samoskevich has recently been playing.

Knight will likely start Tuesday against the Penguins with Driedger backing him up.

Samoskevich got his fifth goal, and first on the power play, in Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I am really happy with him,” Maurice said on Monday afternoon. “There is a baby coming, and we do not want to waive anyone. Mackie is just terrific. When we first signed him out of college, he did not care about getting into a game to burn a year [off his ELC]. He said, ‘I’ll go wherever you want. You want me to go to the American League? I’ll go there.’

“That is the way he has been since Day 1. Awesome to work with. He gets it. Bill and I had that conversation with him so it’s not just ‘hey kid, you’re going down.’ He understands the reasons. He took it great. I am really happy with him and his development. He is ahead of the curve to where I thought he would be.’’

Samoskevich came into Monday ranked ninth among rookie scorers with nine points.

The 21st pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Samoskevich had four goals and seven points in November.

Maurice moved him onto the top power play unit to take advantage of his skill, but also his positioning as a right-handed shot.

Saturday, he was lined up on the left post on the power play, scoring off a sharp pass from Matthew Tkachuk to beat the second-period buzzer for a 2-0 lead.

“He has incredible hands, and an excellent shot that usually goes where he wants it to go,’’ Maurice said. “And he can really, really skate. He is a powerful guy, all day long. But he is young, and I think he can excel there.’’

Maurice has had Samoskevich on the fourth line for a lot of this season to help accelerate his defensive play.

So far, really good.

“Where he has made the most improvement is his intensity through the course of a shift,” Maurice said. “Young players come in and out of the shifts on how hard they drive. They try to find open ice if we have the puck and are not as involved in the play as the NHL game demands. It takes a while for guys to understand that. It’s not about working hard enough, it’s about having a job to do in every moment of that shift. You should be moving somewhere to do that job. He has made great strides in that.’’

ON DECK: GAME 26

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: PPG Arena, Pittsburgh 
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Florida: Jan. 3; March 23. At Pittsburgh: Tuesday.
• Last Season: Panthers won 3-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Penguins lead 56-38-8, 4 ties
• All-time Playoff Series: Florida d. Pittsburgh 4-3, 1996 Eastern Conference finals
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.