In some fundamental ways, the Seattle Kraken and center Shane Wright are very similar.

Much has been expected of the Kraken as an organization and of Wright as an individual. And after five years of operation, the Kraken have failed to live up to those expectations – and the same goes for the 22-year-old Wright, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

Wright produced only 12 goals and 27 points in 74 games this past season – a major step backward from his first full NHL season, when he posted 19 goals and 44 points in 79 games in 2024-25. And the Kraken once again disappointed in the Pacific Division standings, finishing sixth. 

As it stands, the Kraken are the dictionary definition of a mushy middle team – not good enough to be a Stanley Cup playoff team and not bad enough to get a generational talent at the top of the draft –  and the fact that the Kraken are now in the process of moving Wright is a bad comment on Seattle's player development team and their coaching staff.

If the Kraken are going to give up on Wright and trade him to a team that thinks they can unlock the skills that made him a top draft pick, guess what? The Kraken will instantly have a hole at center. And Seattle's foundation will continue to lack foundational talent.

The general sense of malaise hanging over the Kraken claimed its first victim when president of hockey operations Ron Francis stepped down at the end of the season. And now, Seattle GM Jason Botterill is pondering how to turn a Wright trade into a positive for the Kraken.

But from this writer's perspective, the only way for Seattle to get out of the mushy middle is to start over and find a way to get the generational talent the team needs to rise through the Pacific ranks and to a place where the Kraken aren't just a perennial playoff team but a legitimate Cup front-runner.

Certainly, no one would say Seattle is an elite team right now. Signings of mid-tier players, such as right winger Bobby McMann, won't deliver the Kraken into the second and third rounds of the post-season or anywhere near a championship. The Kraken need dynamic young players to compete against superstars, such as Edmonton Oilers centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, elsewhere in the Pacific Division. 

The best way to get those kinds of needle-movers is by drafting at the very top of the draft, having the development team unlock their potential and ensuring the coaching staff uses them in the right situations.

So Botterill can't settle for mediocrity. If Seattle is serious about Cup contention, acquiring nothing short of a face of the franchise will suffice.

It's fair to say the Wright situation hasn't worked out. Despite the dearth of high-quality young centers, Seattle isn't likely to get the sun and the moon in any Wright trade. It's now time for the Kraken to cut their losses with a draft pick they whiffed on, and that means demanding a trade package for Wright that helps Seattle in the long term.

Wright isn't the first top-tier draft pick to struggle early on at the NHL level, and he won't be the last. But a change of employer may be exactly what Wright needs to elevate his game. And if the Kraken play their cards right, they could salvage assets and start again knowing they're essentially looking at a rebuilding season in 2026-27. 

Seattle won't be picked by pundits to do serious damage next year, and while it must kill Kraken fans to know their team isn't elite, there's now an opportunity that allows for a full organizational reset. The longer Seattle pretends to be an above-average team, the longer they'll continue to have mediocre results. 

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