Shane Wright and the Seattle Kraken looks set to get a divorce.
Sportnet Elliot Friedman dropped this bombshell late Friday evening, quoting Agent Wright, Kurt Overhardt. “I can confirm that we have had positive conversations with GM. Jason BotterillThis summer he agreed to move Shane to a team in need of a top young center.”
Although Friedman did not reach Botterill for comment, “executives who spoke with Seattle said there was clearly an agreement between the team and the agent to work together.” However, “Kraken has made it abundantly clear that they expect a fair price and will not be forced to do anything they do not want to do.”
The next question is: what is a fair price? Kraken, who would publicly raise Wright’s value, would privately object to his agent’s description of Wright as a “top young center.”
36 goals and 42 assists are the kind of numbers Kraken dreamed Wright would be able to produce in a season. The problem is that it took the 22-year-old two full seasons and parts of two others (169 games) to reach that level.
Shayna Goldman from Athletic gave this damning assessment in May (paywall). “While he hasn’t always had All-Star teammates to back him up, ‘The Kraken’ has done a lot to isolate him and maximize his strengths, and he still hasn’t become a difference-maker.”
Her colleagues called Wright “Seattle’s Most Disappointing Player,” adding, “The Kraken’s inability to find or develop a star-caliber player has been the story of the franchise after its first five years.”
Great Expectations of the Kraken
There was hope that Wright had turned the corner. Kraken Observer Bob Condor Last October, he tallied his “11 goals in the final 31 games of the 2024/25 season, a pace that flirts with a 30-goal season. If you take Wright’s goal-scoring prowess beyond three games as a healthy final nil last November, his 17 goals in 50 games also matches the 30-goal mark.”
As if this were possible if desired, Kraken management was uniformly emphasizing the positive last fall. “He had a great training camp,” the coach said. Lane Lambert. Strength trainer Nate Brookreson chimed in: “Shane is one of our top players in terms of overall fitness.” Botterill added: “You see him making more plays, being more confident with the puck.”
Instead, his goal totals fell from a promising 19 two seasons ago to just 12 last year.
Rocky 2026 Relationship between Kraken and Wright
Reports of discontent between the center and the club have been brewing for months. Back in January, sources said David Pagnotta from 4th period“The Seattle Kraken are open to a move for Shane Wright. They were looking for a top-six striker and the Wright package could give them that.”
He hinted that the center would not be upset if it left. “I don’t get the feeling that Shane Wright is too excited about his usage lately. He wants to have more responsibility. He wants to have more ice time. There’s some frustration with his usage on his part.”
Friedman confirmed: “The fact that Shane Wright is available and that the Kraken are considering moving him is a real possibility.”
Wright himself tried unsuccessfully to refute such speculation in January. “I don’t really care about it. At the end of the day, it’s just rumors. It doesn’t bother me too much. I’m focused on the team and winning hockey games. That’s all I care about.”
The drumbeat of speculation has not stopped
“If Seattle can find the outcome it wants in the deal,” Sportsnet reports. Nick Kypreos said in February, “Wright will certainly be someone the team will entertain in the move.” Kypreos said that despite the drop in production in the center, there will be contenders. “NHL teams looking to get younger in their pro lineup may want to try to improve Wright’s potential.”
In his March 2 32 thoughts On the podcast, Friedman suggested that Seattle is still looking for “someone to attack their lineup.” He used Wright’s name as a selling point.
Last month, Pagnotta wrote: “Wright remains available and open to a move. Botterill continues to scour the market. Teams continue to poke around, and sources say the Philadelphia Flyers have recently entered the chat.”
Kraken has gone from excitement to trading speculation
Whatever the Kraken accept in exchange for Wright will pale in comparison to their 2022 1st round pick and 4th overall pick in Burlington, Ont. native. At the time, observers were stunned—and then-Kraken general manager Ron Francis were delighted to have Wright fall into their lap. For much of the previous year, there had been rumors that he was the first player to be selected for the team, and in an interview he said that it should be so.
Why not? In 141 OHL games between the Kingston Frontenacs and Windsor Spitfires, he scored 86 goals and 197 points.
As for what potential trading partners now see in Wright (beyond the idea that a change of environment and a different offensive system could unlock his potential), “Wright represents an intriguing two-way center,” he wrote. Chris Johnston V Athletic back in February.
Kraken coach Lambert praised Wright’s improved 200-foot performance in the postseason press.
More Johnston: “(He would likely only be moved in a trade that would return a player with similar upside to Seattle. The Kraken like their organizational depth at center and are looking for a game-changer forward.”
Premature autopsy
When hockey fans and pundits look back on Shane Wright’s career ten years from now, they’ll have answers we don’t.
In particular, did the Kraken let down Shane Wright due to uneven roster usage, constant coaching changes, and lack of supporting talent? Or did Wright let the Kraken down by squandering the team’s faith that the No. 4 pick should have been Celebrini, Bedard or McKenna? And was it possible to save this relationship?
Let the debate begin.
Previously Kraken:
— A former general manager with nostalgia for the Kraken’s tenure; “I wish you to be more successful”
Previously Canucks:
-Where is Waldo? Where is why? Canucks = PHWA