Shane Wright is headed toward a move this summer after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Seattle Kraken and his agent reached an understanding. The 22-year-old center has been the subject of trade talk for months.
Kurt Overhardt said he had positive conversations with GM Jason Botterill and that Botterill had agreed to move Wright this summer to a team in need of a top young center. Wright also said in January that he was not too worried about the rumors and was focused on the team and winning hockey games.
Seattle Kraken and Shane Wright
Friedman said the Wright situation was real, with Wright available and the Kraken considering a move. He also reported that executives who spoke to Seattle said there is an agreement between the team and the agent to work together on the next step.
The Kraken, though, are not treating that as a giveaway. Friedman reported that the team expects a fair price and will not be pressured into anything it does not want to do.
Wright Seattle in January
The trade talk did not appear suddenly. In January, sources told David Pagnotta that the Seattle Kraken were open to moving Wright, and Pagnotta said he did not get the sense that Wright was overly thrilled with his usage lately. He said Wright wanted more responsibility and more ice time.
That picture fit with the way the season had gone. Wright had 36 goals and 42 assists across two full seasons and parts of two others in 169 games, while his goal total fell from 19 two seasons ago to 12 last year.
Jason Botterill and May
In February, Nick Kypreos said Seattle would entertain moving Wright if it could find the scoring it needs in a trade. By May, Shayna Goldman wrote that Wright still had not become a difference-maker, even though the Kraken had done a lot to insulate him to maximize his strengths.
Last autumn, Lane Lambert said, “He’s had a great camp,” while Nate Brookreson said, “Shane is among our top players in overall fitness.” Botterill added, “You see him making more plays out there, having more confidence with the puck.”
Wright’s next step now runs through price. The Kraken have shown they are willing to discuss a move, but the return has to match the value they place on a 22-year-old center who has already logged 169 games and has the market test of a top-six role ahead of him.
If another team wants him, it will have to meet that threshold. Until then, the agreement to move him is only the starting point.
