Two suitors keep surfacing after Kraken make Shane Wright available
Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
The Seattle Kraken have Shane Wright available, and two suitors keep surfacing.
What complicates the race is what Seattle actually wants in return.
Wright was the fourth overall pick in 2022, a right-shot center who is still just 22. He carries an $886,666 cap hit through 2026-27, then becomes a restricted free agent.
That price tag is why the calls keep coming. It is also why the reported fits deserve a second look.
Re Shane Wright/Kraken: "Executives who've spoken to Seattle said there's obviously an agreement between team and agent to work together [on a trade], but the Kraken made it extremely clear they expect a fair price."
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has linked the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks to Wright as early names in the market.
Here is the part that changes the picture. Kraken general manager Jason Botterill has signaled he wants an established top-six scorer coming back, not a futures package.
Why the two named suitors do not fit Seattle's ask
The Vancouver Canucks are mid-teardown, actively shopping Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Jake DeBrusk.
A team selling its scorers has none to spare for Seattle's stated demand.
New Predators president Chris MacFarland has been just as clear. He said franchise-caliber players are rarely traded and pointed to the draft, including Nashville's 10th pick, as his path.
Neither club is built to hand Seattle a proven finisher. Both would be offering youth and picks, which is the return Botterill says he is trying to avoid.
What actually has to break first
If Botterill holds his line, the real Wright market lives with teams carrying a surplus top-six forward, not rebuilders.
That is a different list than the two names circulating now.
Either Seattle lowers its ask and takes a rebuilder's package, or a third team with a scorer to spare enters and jumps the line.
Until one of those happens, Nashville and Vancouver are interested parties, not finish-line fits.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Claude Giroux has reportedly rejected teams in free agency for surprising reason
Claude Giroux has reportedly rejected teams in free agency for surprising reason