Why Shane Wright’s CHL Exemption Should Also Apply to Matt Savoie

The Seattle Kraken may have gotten an exemption from the CHL for Shane Wright, but Tony Ferrari makes the case for the Sabres to follow suit with Matt Savoie.

Shane Wright appears to have gotten an exemption from returning to junior hockey, but should he be the only one?

The Seattle Kraken worked with the NHL and the OHL to secure an exemption that will allow him to play in the AHL if he fails to make the NHL squad. GM Ron Francis confirmed the scenario to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, saying nothing's in writing, but it would be OK if the situation arises. 

The CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement has been a hot topic in hockey over the last few years, requiring superstar major junior players to return to their OHL, WHL or QMJHL league instead of heading to the AHL for a step up. Wright has become the most recent face of the discussion as the former exceptional status forward played through three levels of hockey with a stint at the World Junior Championship last season. 

Wright fell during his draft year after an underwhelming OHL season after missing the year prior, finally being selected fourth overall in the 2022 NHL draft. With the high hopes for Wright, Seattle expected him to make the opening night roster. Although he made his NHL debut on opening night, he played just 6:14 of ice time. This would become a regular occurrence – if he was even in the lineup.

After an AHL conditioning stint that was effectively a loophole to get him into game action for two weeks, Wright returned to the Kraken for one game and scored his first career NHL goal against the Montreal Canadiens. It was a small dose of revenge against the team that passed him over at first overall. This was his final NHL game before joining Team Canada’s U-20 team at the world juniors, and he then went back to the OHL, where he played for the Windsor Spitfires at a nearly two-point-per-game clip.

You could say he’s accomplished just about everything he could at the junior hockey level. The problem is that the CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement states that prospects drafted from either the OHL, WHL or QMJHL cannot be re-assigned to the AHL until they have either turned 20 years old or played in four seasons. Twenty-five games played is counted as an accrued season, and Wright’s 24 last season left him one short of his third accrued season. Wright also only turns 20 on Jan. 5, which is five days short of the age cut-off.

As an exceptional status player, Wright played his first season in the OHL at 15 years old. The following year was the COVID-19 shutdown that cancelled the OHL season, eliminating the chance for him to accrue another season. His draft year was his second season, and then last year’s 24-game run didn’t technically meet the requirement. This leaves him at two OHL seasons accrued, or even just three if you’re willing to round the 24 games last year up to 25, especially considering he played in the playoffs. The NHL and OHL have seemingly agreed to round that total up and also credit him for the lost COVID season.

In short, they seem to be doing the right thing for Shane Wright’s development, and the Kraken couldn’t be happier about it. Had the 2020-21 season not been cancelled because of COVID, Wright would have met the requirement of playing four seasons. Francis made it clear he fully expects Wright to push for a spot on the lineup, but having the AHL as an option gives the Kraken a better option than the OHL.

With the news of the exemption, other fan bases and teams began to wonder why they haven’t received the same treatment. 

There have been many players over the years who could have benefitted from an AHL year but were forced into an extra junior season or a low-minute NHL season in which they are a bit overwhelmed.

Former No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere is a perfect example of a player who probably wasn't ready for the full load of an NHL season with the New York Rangers, struggling to establish his game despite proving everything in junior hockey. He is still trying to play catch up after just holding his head above water in his rookie year. Had the AHL been an option, he could've smoothened the transition to his NHL career. Some players have been successful at navigating the waters of the NHL at 18 or 19 years old, but it’s not an easy jump. 

Aside from Wright this year, the Buffalo Sabres may have the best case for an exception, having reportedly spoken to the CHL about Matt Savoie per Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. 

Savoie wasn’t officially granted exceptional status in the WHL, but he was given an exception to play more than half the season at 15 years old. He only played 22 games that year because of COVID-19 ending the season early. While Wright didn’t play outside of the World Under-18s in 2020-21, Savoie went to the USHL to ensure he kept playing in games that year while the WHL was slow to start up.

At the end of the day, Wright played in 141 OHL games over his junior career. To this point, Savoie has played in 149 WHL games, with an additional 34 in the USHL. If you include playoffs, Wright gets an additional 15 OHL games, while Savoie adds another 29. Savoie's even closer to the age cut-off than Wright, with a Jan. 1 birthday just falling one day short of turning 20 by the end of 2023.

The two prospects' production hasn’t been wildly far off. Wright’s 1.4 points-per-game in the regular season dropped significantly in the playoffs to 1.13. On the flip side, Savoie’s 1.29 points per game in the regular season jumped to 1.41 in the playoffs.

The case for Savoie to get the same exemption that Wright received is pretty strong. The biggest issue is whether that would open a can of worms after the CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement was just extended through 2029 last season.

A less strict agreement with exceptions for every NHL club could be closer than we think. The NHL and CHL could also say it’s a one-time exemption, force Savoie and any other player who has accomplished everything they can at the junior level to play an additional season, and stay the course.

Whatever the case, it will be interesting to track how the NHL deals with this moving forward now that they’ve cracked the door open to exceptions moving forward.