A young centre might be on his way to the trade block ahead of this season’s deadline.
The Seattle Kraken are shopping 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright and are considering moving him, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday’s 32 Thoughts episode.
“The Shane Wright stuff, that he’s available and out there and the Kraken are considering moving him — that’s real,” Friedman said.
He credited David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period as the first to report the news.
“Seattle’s been kind of an interesting situation,” Friedman continued. “They were a bit down and thinking, OK, we’re going to move some of our guys. We’re going to trade some of our guys. Then they got hot, and they kind of stepped back.”
Even as the Kraken have righted the ship, Friedman pointed out, Wright still appears to be the odd man out in terms of playing time, averaging 13:44 per game. On Jan. 19 against Pittsburgh, he played just 9:57, which was his lowest since Nov. 13.
“Initially, you kind of wonder, OK, is the agent rattling cages here, or something like that. And I was told no, like this is real,” said Friedman, adding that the Kraken would be looking to receive a scorer in return.
“That’s one thing Seattle has always looked at, is trying to find a dynamic offensive player. That’s kind of one of the things that they’ve never really had,” Friedman continued. “They have (Matty) Beniers, who’s a talented guy, but they’ve never had that kind of young dynamic scorer. I think what they’re hoping is that maybe Wright can get them that and see where it goes.”
So who might be a good fit for Wright and the Kraken? The Rangers, in the midst of a retool, have scoring talent in Artemi Panarin or potentially Alexis Lafreniere, who has yet to live up to his pedigree as a first-overall pick.
“I don’t know how both teams would feel about that. Would they feel that, ‘We deserve a little bit more,’ or ‘No, we deserve a little bit more,'” Friedman explained, before adding, “When I thought about (that trade proposition), that’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.
“The Rangers won’t want to sell (Lafreniere), a former first-overall pick, for 50 cents on the dollar. I agree with them. I think they’re right about that. But how would you feel about moving him for a fourth-overall pick, who’s a centre — slightly more valuable position — and both players could probably use a change of scenery.”
The 22-year-old Wright has seven goals and 17 points in 49 games this season — his second full campaign in the NHL — for the Kraken. For his career, he’s potted 31 goals and 68 points in 144 games.
The NHL goes on a trade freeze during the Olympics between Feb. 4 and 22, before the official deadline on March 6.
