Canucks Would Be a Great Trade Destination For the Kraken’s Shane Wright

Shane Wright’s future in the NHL doesn’t appear to be with the Seattle Kraken. It was recently reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that Wright and the Kraken mutually want to part ways and are looking for potential trade partners to take on Wright.

The Vancouver Canucks could be a team interested in acquiring Wright. While yes, the Canucks likely don’t view themselves as buyers and shouldn’t want to rush a rebuild, Wright is still only 22 years old, which aligns with the Canucks’ current rebuild timeline.

Struggles in Seattle

It’s fair to say that Wright has definitely struggled out of the gates for the Kraken. He was drafted fourth overall by the team after an entire season of being consistently ranked number one in his draft class. Wright had a career high in goals and points in the 2024-25 season with 19 and 44, respectively, but completely cooled off this past season, only putting up 12 and 27.

It’s worth noting, though, that the Kraken have struggled to develop young talent in their first few seasons as an NHL franchise. Matty Beniers is so far their standout young piece, and while he won the Calder Trophy in the 2022-23 season, that campaign’s marks were still his career highs in goals and points. Standout prospect Berkly Catton also didn’t perform quite up to expectations in 2025-26, though it’s still early in his career. 

An Intriguing Skillset

Despite the pessimism around his current performance, Wright was once one of the most sought-after prospects. In 2019, he was granted exceptional status, which allowed him to join the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Kingston Frontenacs a year early. As the youngest player on the team, he led them in scoring in the 2019-20 season. In 2021-22, he was awarded the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Top Draft Prospect award after a 94-point campaign.

Wright showed few weaknesses as a prospect. He wasn’t as offensively consistent as some would have liked, but he had a great two-way toolkit. We are seeing some of that in the NHL, despite the mediocre production. The Kraken have deployed him quite a bit in the defensive zone, and he has looked solid there. While plus/minus isn’t the best stat to evaluate players with, he had a plus-6 last season on a team with a horrendous goal differential, which counts for something. He’s also a strong skater; per NHL Edge, he ranks in the 92nd percentile of bursts between 18 and 20 mph. He flies all over the ice, as he averaged 10.28 miles skated per game, well above the NHL average of 9.6.

While he may not have the numbers that many expected him to have, he has shown flashes of being a great player; he just hasn’t put it all together.

Potential Packages

This offseason has seen major trade package inflation, which makes it somewhat difficult to project a package for Wright. It would partially depend on how many bidders there are, though with Wright clearly disgruntled, the Kraken may be forced to lower their asking price if teams know they feel they have to make a trade.

One that could be comparable was the Simon Nemec trade. Nemec has more value due to the longer development cycle of defencemen and his Olympic heroism, but both players underperformed somewhat and needed a change of scenery. Nemec, paired with depth winger Maxim Tsyplakov, landed a couple of conditional first-round picks (from the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights), a second-round pick, and prospect Etienne Morin.

Perhaps the Canucks could package a few of the picks they acquired via selling off players in recent seasons to acquire Wright? Those picks wouldn’t be first-rounders, but again, Nemec likely has more value. Another possibility would be to trade a young defenceman like Elias Pettersson or Tom Willander to the Kraken, as they need help on the blue line. Though in the case of Willander, you’d have to think that the Kraken would be the one adding more pieces to make it work, considering his potential.

One way-out-there option could be acquiring Wright as part of a trade involving centre Elias Pettersson. There has been chatter about Pettersson being moved as of late, as he clearly is another player who could use a change of scenery. Seattle has been swinging hard for a big fish, trying to lure Jason Robertson and Artemi Panarin with the promise of big-money deals. While Pettersson hasn’t played at the level of those two as of late, he has hit 100 points in the past and plays centre, which is valued higher than wingers. Maybe Wright and Pettersson could be part of an even larger asset swap of these two rebuilding rivals?

How He Fits the Canucks

Wright’s role would be dependent on what pieces the Canucks choose to sell, whether as part of a deal to acquire him or as another move. If Pettersson is moved, perhaps Wright could be given reps at a first-line center role. He certainly hasn’t performed like one yet, but it feels like a move to an offence as barren as that of the Canucks could mean even more opportunities than with the Kraken. 

Realistically, the Canucks probably want to keep as many future assets as they can, so the trade seems unlikely. Still, Wright is very young, and he could be an excellent fit for a coach with a development background like Manny Malhotra. The Canucks ultimately feel like one of the better fits out there for a young player eager to fully break through and become the top-line producer many thought he would be.