The Bruins have already made one bold swing for offense this offseason, but the search for a true top-six center may not be over yet. After sending their first-round pick to land JJ Peterka, Boston still appears to be hunting for help down the middle, and with the Seattle Kraken shopping Shane Wright, the fit is obvious on paper.
That’s exactly why this rumor has traction. Boston’s roster moves have been aimed at the early-20s crowd, a clear effort to support an aging core and build something that still works when David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are no longer in their prime.
Wright would fit that plan neatly. He’d also give the Bruins another young piece to add to a group that already includes Peterka, James Hagens, Dean Letourneau, and Fraser Minten.
The Bruins have definitely been active in the market. They were in on Maverick Bourque before getting JJ Peterka.
Pagnotta says they are looking for another Top 6 forward and that a centre would be ideal. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/o2pb4ka9oo
- NHL Trade Alert (@NHLTradeAlert) July 4, 2026
But Wright comes with baggage, and that’s where the conversation gets complicated. Ever since he slipped to fourth in the draft and stared down the Montreal Canadiens’ table for passing on him first overall, he’s carried a certain edge - and, depending on who you ask, a certain warning label.
Some saw confidence. Others saw a player whose body language hinted at something more fragile for someone who had once been viewed as the consensus No. 1 pick.
His development path hasn’t exactly smoothed things over. The year after his draft was a whirlwind: he opened in the NHL, played some AHL games, suited up for Canada at the World Juniors, and then got dealt to a new OHL team over the holiday break before finishing his junior career there. That kind of chaos can muddy the picture for any young player.
Still, the next steps were encouraging. He looked like a solid pro in Coachella Valley, then posted 44 points in his rookie season with the Kraken.
That set up real optimism heading into 2025-26. Instead, he finished with 27 points in 74 games.
That drop is what makes this such a tricky call for Boston. The upside is easy to see.
Seattle has struggled, and the offensive talent there has been even thinner than what the Bruins have been working with in their top six. Put Wright between Pastrnak and Peterka, and the situation looks a lot better than what he dealt with in the Pacific Northwest.
The numbers beneath the surface also suggest there may be more there. Wright’s underlying metrics were strong enough to make his 27-point season look hard to square with the rest of the profile.
That said, getting him out of Seattle would not come cheap. Boston already spent future assets to get Peterka, and another major trade for Wright would mean doubling down on the same age bracket of the roster.
That’s the real question now: how much future are the Bruins willing to commit to this group, and how do they believe it will play with Pastrnak and McAvoy? If they truly think Wright can still become the player many expected in the 2022 draft, then buying low makes sense. If this is just another attempt to force a top-six center into place, the Bruins may need a safer answer.
They may already have missed that cleaner path when they failed to land Mason McTavish, leaving Wright as the next best option that fits the need. And if Boston is looking for a little extra motivation, there’s one more detail that works in their favor: with the rivalry with the Canadiens heating back up, Wright already has a built-in dislike for the organization.
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