Seattle Bet on Samoskevich and McMann to Fix the Offense. Here's the Exact Way That Works — and the Exact Way It Doesn't.

When I wrote last week that Seattle's offseason bet was a narrow one, I didn't expect the path to get narrower quite this fast. The Penguins trade interest in a Kraken center — reported Monday by The Athletic's Josh Yohe — is a reminder that this front office is navigating several live wires simultaneously. But the core question hasn't changed: can Mackie Samoskevich and Bobby McMann actually solve the problem that sank this team?

Let's be precise about what the problem was. Over the final ten games of the 2026 season, Seattle averaged 2.0 goals per game — nearly a full goal less than the 2.9 they'd managed in the twenty games before that. They finished 2-8 in that stretch and closed the year on a three-game losing streak. This wasn't a team that got unlucky at the end. It was a team whose offense simply stopped functioning under pressure. The 34-48 record is the outcome; the scoring collapse is the cause.

Here is the narrow path to the good outcome. Samoskevich, 23 years old and acquired from Florida for the No. 25 pick, slots into a middle-six role alongside Matty Beniers or Chandler Stephenson and gives Seattle a young, high-event forward who can generate offense in ways the roster currently cannot. McMann, locked up for six years, provides the physical, competitive energy that keeps a line honest when the skill players are struggling. Together, they don't need to be stars — they need to be reliable. Beniers, who led the team in ice time last season and put up 32 points while driving play from center, remains the engine. Jordan Eberle, whose plus-9 was the best mark on the roster, provides the finishing. The Samoskevich-McMann additions work if they take pressure off those two and keep the offense humming when the top line has a quiet night.

Now name what breaks that path. First and most urgent: Jared McCann. He played only 23 games last season, but his 0.83 points per game was the best rate on the team by a significant margin. If McCann returns healthy and gets into the lineup for a full season, Seattle's offensive ceiling rises considerably. If he doesn't — and he's been unavailable since late June — Samoskevich is being asked to fill a gap that goes well beyond a complementary role. Second: Joey Daccord. A team can add all the forwards it wants; without a functional starter in goal, the math doesn't work. Daccord has been out since late June as well, and his timeline for training camp remains unclear. Third: the Pittsburgh situation. If Shane Wright — who played all 50 games and showed real development — gets moved for assets, Seattle loses the center depth that gives Beniers room to breathe. My read is that trading Wright would be a mistake right now, precisely because the offense needs bodies, not vacancies.

The honest version of this offseason is that management made two reasonable moves and then immediately had the injury situation complicate both of them. Samoskevich is a real asset. McMann's extension reflects genuine organizational confidence. But neither move addresses goaltending, neither guarantees McCann's health, and neither stops Pittsburgh from making calls. The path to competing in 2026-27 runs directly through Daccord and McCann returning to full health before training camp. If they do, and if the center depth holds, Seattle has enough to be dangerous. If even one of those conditions fails, this offseason will look like a team that rearranged the furniture while the foundation was cracking.