Shane Wright Gets Much Needed Fresh Start With Kraken Trade To Predators

When an NHL team makes a major investment on a prospect, fans — fairly or unfairly — typically want immediate results. If those results don't come, the spotlight that felt so good at the time of a draft turns into a fireball of negativity.

That's been the case for 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright for some time now. Wright had been projected by some to be the best player available at the draft, but it quickly became apparent after the Seattle Kraken selected him that he was going to be more of a long-term project.

So it really wasn't a surprise Sunday when the Kraken parted ways with Wright, trading him to the Nashville Predators for young winger Matthew Wood. Seattle fans might look at the return for Wright as being underwhelming, but the reality is that Wright's performance was also underwhelming.

In two full seasons he generated a combined 71 points in 153 games and failed to ever reach the 20-goal plateau in a campaign. That resume would suggest that Kraken GM Jason Botterill was never going to recoup a phenomenal return for Wright.

That doesn't mean Wood can't be a meaningful contributor for Seattle. In his first full NHL season with the Predators last year, the 21-year-old produced 17 goals and 30 points in 71 games. Wood himself is a fairly high draft pick, as Nashville took him with the 15th-overall pick in 2023.

But new GM Chris MacFarland is putting his stamp on the organization, and clearly, he believes it's worth gambling that Wright can eventually evolve into a key component for his team.

With Wright on board, the Predators get some much-needed depth up the middle, and his contractual situation is also a positive, as he's only going to be an RFA next summer. Wood is in the same boat for the Kraken.

Thus, you can see why this trade works for both sides. The Predators are hoping that, in the relative calm and quiet of Nashville, Wright will fulfill the promise that made him a high-profile pick. And the Kraken no longer have to expect big things out of a player who couldn't live up to the hype. 

Wright isn't the first young NHLer who had trouble fulfilling expectations, and he certainly won't be the last. But this is the kind of deal that can be beneficial to each party, and it's entirely possible that both Wright and Wood turn into important players for their respective teams. 

The bottom line is that it wasn't working out for Wright in Seattle, and Wood was the type of young player with upside who can soften the blow of Wright being a disappointment.

Both Wood and Wright have their best years ahead of them, and if they can step their game up in the years to come, they’ll look back at this transaction as absolutely necessary for them to improve and turn into valuable members for their team.

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