It’s not often a team gets the chance to chase a potential first-line center without paying the kind of price that usually comes with that label. For the Red Wings, Shane Wright looks like the kind of swing worth considering.
Detroit needs help down the middle, and it needs to be bold about finding it. An offer sheet for someone like Adam Fantilli of the Columbus Blue Jackets would be one route, but that path brings its own baggage: it could sour future trade relationships and cost multiple high draft picks. Wright, by comparison, is a different kind of target.
The former projected first overall pick has not had a clean runway in Seattle. He spent his first few seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL before finally earning a full-time spot in 2024-25. Even then, the results were muted, and much of that seems tied to the situation around him as much as anything Wright did himself.
Seattle’s projected lineup for next season raises questions of its own. Wright is listed on the second line with Jared McCann, but the bigger eyebrow-raiser is the presence of “Berkley Catton.” That kind of uncertainty has been part of the backdrop around Wright in Seattle.
Last season, Wright managed 27 points in 74 games. He had trouble clicking with his linemates and couldn’t finish chances consistently.
His usage was uneven too, with an average of 13:48 per game. For context, J.T.
Compher logged more ice time at 15:40 a night.
The issues in Seattle go well beyond Wright. The Kraken finished with a minus-37 goal differential last season, which is especially jarring in a division that should have offered more room to breathe. From Matty Beniers, the former Calder winner, to Wright, the whole roster seemed stuck in the same cycle of inconsistency.
That’s what makes this situation feel like it could reach a breaking point. Wright is heading into the final year of his entry-level deal, and Seattle’s continued struggles create the kind of opening that can push both sides toward a change.
For Detroit, the appeal is obvious. Wright has not produced like a finished product, with 78 points in 169 games, but he also hasn’t been given the kind of steady NHL opportunity that lets a young center settle in and show what he can really do. A new environment could matter.
And because his production has been modest, the price tag should stay manageable. That gives the Red Wings a chance to gamble on a player with real upside without emptying the cupboard. In a market where top-line centers are hard to find, that kind of move has a lot going for it.
If reports are true
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