The Seattle Kraken made the move Sunday afternoon, sending Shane Wright to the Nashville Predators and bringing back forward Matthew Wood in return.
Per the team’s official press release, “Seattle Kraken General Manager Jason Botterill announced that the team has acquired forward Matthew Wood from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shane Wright.”
Wood arrives as a 6-foot-4, 205-pound right wing who was taken 15th overall by Nashville in the 2023 NHL Draft after playing college hockey at U-Conn and the University of Minnesota. The 21-year-old, who is from Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island, also appeared in six games at the end of the 2024-’25 season after his college career ended in the spring.
Botterill praised the addition in his statement: “Matthew is a young forward who adds size and an elite shot to our group,” Botterill said in his statement. “He’s a skilled player, with hockey sense, who demonstrated his offensive potential last season as a rookie in the National Hockey League.
We’re thrilled to welcome Matthew to Seattle and excited to see his impact on our team. We thank Shane for his contributions to our organization and the city of Seattle, and we wish him all the best in Nashville.”
Wood has 17 goals and 13 assists in 71 games last season, though he’s started this year with one goal and two assists in 14 games.
Wright’s run in Seattle ends with 39 goals and 43 assists in 183 games after the Kraken selected him fourth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. The player requested a trade last spring, and possible landing spots had been circulating for weeks and months.
The swap gives both players a new opportunity as each tries to help his new club in the Western Conference wild card race. The Kraken and Predators won’t have to wait long to see each other again, either, with a home-and-home set on the schedule for mid-December.
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