The Florida Panthers just won their second straight Stanley Cup, but here’s what nobody saw coming: one of their young players is making barely more than a college kid who hasn’t even been drafted yet. Mackie Samoskevich signed for $775,000 while 17-year-old Gavin McKenna just landed a $700,000 NIL deal at Penn State. That’s a $75,000 difference between a Stanley Cup champion and a teenager.

Why Is Mackie Samoskevich Making Only $75,000 More Than Gavin McKenna?

The Panthers lifted the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive time in 2024-25, beating the Edmonton Oilers again. The Panthers kept their core together, including the star trio of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand. GM Bill Zito delivered on his promise of retaining all three and pulled off what seemed impossible.

Along with keeping the big names, the team re-signed right-winger Samoskevich to a contract worth $775,000 with a cap hit of the same amount. His deal runs through 2026, after which the 22-year-old will become a restricted free agent.

Meanwhile, college NIL deals keep reaching jaw-dropping numbers. McKenna’s NIL deal with Penn State has left many in the hockey community speechless. The NIL deal is worth $700,000 and played a significant role in McKenna’s decision to choose the school. His commitment to join the Nittany Lions came months after the NCAA lifted its ban on Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players from competing at colleges in the United States in November 2024.

Penn State’s NIL offer doubled Michigan State’s $300,000 proposal. The choice was clear for McKenna. However, the 17-year-old said his decision to commit to Penn State went beyond just the money. He explained that while the Western Hockey League is great, he wanted to be part of a more challenging and competitive environment to become NHL-ready.

“Both options were great, but I just think going to college, being in such a great conference, it’ll really challenge me and prepare me,” said McKenna.

McKenna’s decision ultimately came down to more than just the financial package. But when you look at the numbers side by side, the contract comparison becomes even more eye-opening.

What Makes This Contract Comparison So Striking?

McKenna’s time with the WHL was short but packed with highlights. After his standout performance, in which he recorded 129 points in 56 regular-season games, he was named the CHL Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season. Given his talent level, the Penn State NIL deal makes sense.

But as The Athletic’s Jesse Marshall points out, Samoskevich of the Panthers only earns $75,000 more than McKenna. Given the Panthers’ championship status, you’d expect the 22-year-old to command a much higher salary.

The reality is that Samoskevich isn’t eligible for an offer sheet yet, which significantly hurts his bargaining position. Without enough experience, the Connecticut native can’t benefit from offer sheet leverage. The lack of offer sheet eligibility gave the Panthers complete control over contract negotiations, keeping other teams out of the picture entirely.

The winger, who has 31 points in 72 regular-season games in 2024, was offered the league minimum salary of $775,000. From the Panthers’ perspective, their hands were tied. Zito likely stretched the budget to its limits after working to retain Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand. Zito’s decision to re-sign Samoskevich shows the team’s confidence in the 22-year-old’s future, even if the contract doesn’t reflect typical market value for a Stanley Cup winner.

Poll anyone in the hockey community and they would say that James Hagens’ freshman season at Boston College was a disappointment. However, it’s safe to say that expectations are rising with some of the freshmen who come into the NCAA now, and Hagens’ season was a massive success by most standards.

Imagine starting your NCAA career as a 17-year-old, being in contention for the first overall pick in the NHL, recording a point-per-game over the entire season, and then having people say that your year was a disappointment. While some freshmen do enter a situation like Boston College and put up more points, Bruins fans should be dancing in the streets that a player of Hagens’ calibre was available to them at seventh overall.

Suppose the points aren’t enough to keep the experts from calling Hagens a disappointment. In that case, NHLFoley on X has recently released a set of NCAA player cards, which show some of the underlying numbers that you won’t find on an EliteProspects page. If there was anyone in Boston who still wasn’t sold on their newest top prospect, this card should tell the whole story.

Hagens had some eye-popping numbers this past season, which includes an 86% generation statistic. It helped that he played with Ryan Leonard and Oliver Moore for most of the season, but the fact that the coaches trusted him to be on the ice with those players for the entire season shows that he was an essential cog in that line. Foley’s card shows that Hagens was the fourth-best forward in Hockey East, which is only reserved for the best of the best as a freshman.

Drop The Mitts Hockey summed up everyone’s thoughts when looking at this player card. It’s easy to see the areas where Hagens has to improve and possibly why six other teams passed on him, but the good news is that they are things he can fix. Hagens was abysmal in puck battles and turnovers, but that comes from not being the most massive player at 5-foot-11, 176 pounds.

Hagens has a desire to sign with the Bruins this summer, but it’d be in his best interest to return to Boston College and work on getting bigger and stronger in a league that has more time to practice and hit the weight room. If Hagens can make that happen this season, his battle numbers are bound to rise.

If the rest of the numbers stay the same and those rise, we could be looking at the Bruins’ next generational player.