Shane Wright Gets His Wish As Seattle Kraken Complete Trade With Nashville Predators

Wright heads to Nashville after four seasons with the Kraken© Getty via AFP

The Seattle Kraken have moved on from Shane Wright, sending the 22-year-old centre to the Nashville Predators in a straight one-for-one deal on Sunday. In return, Seattle receives Matthew Wood, Nashville's 2023 first-round pick. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman first reported the two teams were working on a swap involving Wright and Wood before Darren Dreger confirmed the deal was done. Wright, who formally requested a trade from Seattle this past summer, gets the fresh start he's been pushing for since last season ended.

Wright and Seattle: A Relationship That Ran Its Course

When Seattle used the fourth-overall pick in 2022 on Wright, the expectation was clear. He was supposed to be their No. 1 centre, a franchise player. Four seasons later, none of that materialised. Wright finished his time in Seattle with 39 goals and 82 points across 182 regular-season games, without a single playoff appearance. Last year alone, he managed just 12 goals and 27 points in 74 games. This season, he had 3 goals and 4 points through 14 outings before Sunday's trade.

His agent Kurt Overhardt confirmed the trade request this summer, telling Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that Kraken general manager Jason Botterill had agreed to move Wright. “I can confirm that we have had positive conversations with Botterill, and he has agreed to move Shane this summer to a team in need of a top young centre,” Overhardt said. The Kraken held off through the offseason, but with Wright's numbers stalling again and the relationship clearly fractured, there was no reason to wait any longer.

What Nashville Offers, and What Seattle Gets Back

Wood is 21, big at 6-foot-4, and was described at the time of his signing as a pure goal scorer. He recorded his first NHL hat trick last November and put up 17 goals and 30 points across 71 games in his first full NHL season. This year has been rougher — 1 goal and 4 points through 14 games — but the underlying profile is more encouraging than Wright's at the same stage. Seattle gets a younger player on a cost-controlled deal at $950,000 per season through 2026-27.

Two former lottery picks, two slow starts, two teams betting on a change of scenery doing what a fresh situation sometimes does for a stalled career. Nashville gets a centre with a point to prove. Seattle gets a winger with size and a track record of finishing. Whether either player delivers on that bet is the only question left.