Poll: Which Team Should Make The Biggest Push For Shane Wright?

A weak Western Conference has the hot-and-cold Kraken still squarely in contention for a playoff spot. Seattle had won six of eight entering the break, moving them into third in the Pacific Division and tied with the Ducks for the second wild-card slot (although the Kraken have three more regulation wins).

Despite teetering on the edge of a berth all season, general manager Jason Botterill’s overall deadline strategy appears to be as aggressive as possible. 2022 fourth overall pick Shane Wright is one name that could very well be on the move after reports last month indicated they were open to dangling him as the big fish to land a major upgrade for their top-six forward group.

While it would normally be surprising to see a team so uncertain of its short-term outlook being willing to dangle such a high-value young asset, Seattle has assembled a deep prospect pool over the last few years that can easily handle the loss of Wright. Even just considering centers, they’ve supplemented him with two more top-10 picks in Berkly Catton in 2024 and Jake O’Brien last year.

The desire to give Wright a fresh start elsewhere appears to come from both player and team. That makes sense considering Wright has had his ice time reduced from last season under first-year head coach Lane Lambert, despite coming off a strong 19-goal, 44-point effort in 79 games in his first extended look in NHL minutes in 2024-25.

As a result, this year his production has dipped to 11 goals and 22 points in 56 games. That’s a points-per-game decrease from 0.56 to 0.39, accompanied by a 10-second drop in ice time per game.

The Ontario native has also struggled in the two most important secondary areas for a center – faceoffs and possession control. He’s winning just 37.9% of his draws this year after hitting 44.4% last season while controlling 46.3% of shot attempts at even strength. The latter number is particularly disappointing considering he’s been given sheltered usage, starting over two-thirds of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Nonetheless, there are a few teams looking to move out a top-six piece that wouldn’t benefit from a 22-year-old center with the pedigree of being a top-five pick. Which sellers should be the most aggressive in trying to ensure they strike a deal with Kraken and recoup Wright?

Calgary Flames

Even among sellers, you’d be hard-pressed to find a team with two tangible top-six forwards – with term – to use as trade chips. If Seattle wants to make a push for either Blake Coleman or Nazem Kadri, the Flames are asking for Wright as the starting piece of the return, especially for the latter.

They’ve done well to build out their prospect pool on defense (particularly the right side) and on the wings, but they’re missing a clear-cut top-six piece down the middle long-term, especially with Samuel Honzek appearing to shift to the wing full-time and Cole Reschny‘s slighter frame likely making him a better fit at left wing than center at the NHL level. They’re not currently icing a center under the age of 25 in the NHL, either, at least not with John Beecher injured.

Adding Wright gives them more hope down the middle long-term with greater offensive upside than a name like Honzek has been able to show in the pros thus far.

New York Rangers

Seattle made a big contract offer to Artemi Panarin but struck out with the winger deciding it was L.A. or bust. With the two clubs already having engaged in trade talks on the star winger, the Kraken might opt to put themselves in the conversation for Rangers middleman Vincent Trocheck as well.

For a team still in the earlier stages of a retool like the Rangers, they wouldn’t be too concerned with position when getting as high-value an asset as Wright back in a deal. Nonetheless, recouping a young, higher-ceiling center by March 6 would be a dream scenario for Blueshirts GM Chris Drury.

The Rangers’ arsenal of U23 potential top-six contributors at forward – Gabriel Perreault, Liam Greentree, and Malcolm Spence – are all wingers. Their best center prospect, 22-year-old Noah Laba, has operated as their third-line center for most of the year and, while he’s clearly made the jump to full-time NHLer status, has never been touted as anything more than a long-term 3C option.

With such a pressing positional need down the middle, especially if they’re intent on flipping Trocheck with several years left on his deal, Wright is a perfect addition.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues aren’t actively shopping Robert Thomas, but they are listening to offers. It will still take a gargantuan price tag – reported to be four first-round picks or equivalent assets – to land a deal, but the Kraken are well-positioned to do so with Wright ready to fill one of those four slots and four first-round picks available in the next two drafts.

Unlike for Calgary and New York, though, adding Wright down the middle would more signal a completion of the long-term puzzle down the middle than a much-needed jumpstart. Dalibor Dvorsky, still just 20 years old, has arrived this season as he looks to be a high-end second-line piece for St. Louis throughout his prime. Another recent first-rounder, Otto Stenberg, hasn’t looked out of place in NHL action this year, either.

Wright’s sluggish development so far wouldn’t solve the need for finding a bona fide first-line piece to serve as a direct replacement for Thomas, but he would give the Blues ample top-nine depth for their next playoff contention window.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks are headed straight toward the best odds at the first overall pick in this year’s draft, in large part due to a lack of production from the middle of the ice. Their middle-six pivots for much of the year, David Kämpf and Aatu Räty, have combined for all of five goals.

They already picked up Marco Rossi from the Wild in the Quinn Hughes deal, but he’s battled through a broken foot this season and only had a goal and an assist in eight appearances for Vancouver before the break. There’s also the matter of star first-liner Elias Pettersson, who’s still struggled to get anywhere close to the heights of his 102-point breakout three years ago. He’s scoring at a 57-point pace this season, the worst of his career.

If Seattle wants to buy low on the high-priced pivot, Wright won’t have more opportunity at premier minutes anywhere else than in Vancouver.

If the Kraken do leverage Wright into a top-six upgrade, which team would stand to reap the most rewards? Have your say in the poll below: