Florida Panthers Call Up Mackie Samoskevich, Place Cousins on IR

The Florida Panthers called up Mackie Samoskevich from AHL Charlotte on Friday afternoon.

Samoskevich has nine goals and 22 points in 27 games with the Checkers this season.

The 21-year-old did not record a point in three NHL games in his first stint with the Panthers to start the 2023-24 NHL season.

“The thing I would say about Mackie is: He has been good and he will play meaningful minutes this year. He is not going to be an extra here and he is not going to be a low-minute guy here,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said after Samoskevich initially made the team out of training camp.

“I don’t know if that’s the start, the middle or the end of the season. These young players have to play meaningful minutes at the start of their careers. He has to be in the top-9, and it doesn’t have to be permanent. There could be a game or two — or a week or two — where he is not a guy like that.”

The Panthers may need Samoskevich to play significant minutes with Nick Cousins, Evan Rodrigues and Sasha Barkov all injured.

Cousins, who has been on concussion protocol since Jan. 2, was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.

Barkov (upper-body) and Rodrigues (lower-body) remain on the active roster.

Maurice did not provide an update on either player after the team’s 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

Cousins will be eligible to be removed from injured reserve when the team returns from its four-game road trip on Jan. 10.

They have two more games against the Colorado Avalanche (Saturday) and St. Louis Blues (Tuesday) before returning home for six of their next nine games.

This is a developing story which will be updated once more information becomes available.