Shane Wright’s next NHL stop may not be Seattle, and the Vancouver Canucks have been floated as a logical landing spot if the Kraken move on.
That possibility comes after Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that Wright and the Kraken mutually want to part ways and are looking for trade partners. If Seattle does make him available, Vancouver checks a lot of boxes on paper. The Canucks may not see themselves as buyers, and they also shouldn’t be in a hurry to shortcut their rebuild, but Wright is still only 22 years old, which fits the team’s current timeline.
The attraction is easy to understand, even with the rough NHL results so far. Wright was taken fourth overall after spending an entire season as the consensus No. 1 player in his draft class, but his production in Seattle has not matched that pedigree. He posted career highs in 2024-25 with 19 goals and 44 points, then dropped to 12 goals and 27 points this past season.
Seattle’s development track record hasn’t exactly helped. The Kraken have had a hard time turning young talent into consistent NHL impact during their early years as a franchise.
Matty Beniers remains their top young success story, and even though he won the Calder Trophy in 2022-23, that season was also his career best in goals and points. Berkly Catton also fell short of expectations in 2025-26, though he is still early in his career.
Still, Wright’s value isn’t built only on box scores. He was one of the most coveted prospects in hockey for a reason.
In 2019, he received exceptional status and joined the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs a year early. As the youngest player on the roster, he led the team in scoring in 2019-20.
Then in 2021-22, he won the Canadian Hockey League’s Top Draft Prospect award after putting up 94 points.
The offensive ceiling has not shown up consistently in the NHL, but the rest of the package remains interesting. Wright brought a strong two-way game as a prospect, and some of that is showing now.
Seattle has used him heavily in the defensive zone, and he has held up well there. His plus-6 last season stood out on a team with a terrible goal differential, even if plus/minus is far from a perfect stat.
He also brings real speed, ranking in the 92nd percentile for bursts between 18 and 20 mph, according to NHL Edge, and he averaged 10.28 miles skated per game, well above the NHL average of 9.6.
That combination is why a trade market could get interesting fast. This offseason has already seen trade-package inflation, and that makes Wright’s price tough to pin down. The number of bidders would matter, but if Seattle believes Wright is unhappy and knows it needs to move him, the asking price could come down.
One possible reference point is the Simon Nemec deal. Nemec carries more value because of the longer development curve for defencemen and his Olympic heroism, but the basic idea is similar: a young player who has underwhelmed and may need a new setting. In that trade, Nemec and depth winger Maxim Tsyplakov brought back a pair of conditional first-round picks from the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, a second-round pick, and prospect Etienne Morin.
For Vancouver, the most obvious route might be using some of the picks it has collected by selling off players in recent seasons. Those picks would not be first-rounders, but the Nemec example suggests there is room for a deal if Seattle’s price softens.
Another possibility is moving a young defenceman such as Elias Pettersson or Tom Willander, since the Kraken need help on the blue line. In Willander’s case, Seattle would likely need to add more to balance the value, given his potential.
There is also a much bigger swing that would tie Wright into a larger deal involving Elias Pettersson. Pettersson has been the subject of recent chatter as a possible trade candidate, and he is another player who could benefit from a fresh start.
Seattle has been chasing major names, trying to land Jason Robertson and Artemi Panarin with the lure of big-money contracts. Pettersson hasn’t been producing at that level lately, but he has reached 100 points before and plays centre, which carries extra value compared with winger.
That opens the door, at least in theory, to a broader asset swap between two rebuilding clubs.
If Wright did end up in Vancouver, his role would depend on what else the Canucks moved out. If Pettersson is dealt, Wright could get a shot at first-line centre minutes. He has not played like that yet, but the Canucks’ thin offence could create more opportunity than he has had in Seattle.
Even so, the most realistic outcome may be that Vancouver tries to hold onto its future assets and stays out of the bidding. But Wright is still young, and a coach with a development background like Manny Malhotra could make the fit work. If the Kraken do move him, the Canucks look like one of the cleaner landing spots for a player still trying to become the top-line scorer people expected.
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For Seattle, though, this is not the sort of move to make lightly. The Kraken are expected to hold out for fair value, which means any serious discussion would have to start with real assets coming back, not just a hopeful swap of needs. Boston has pieces it could dangle, but the question is whether the Bruins are willing to pay enough to get the kind of center they believe can help them now without emptying too much of the cupboard in the process. [Read more 🡒]