The Colorado Avalanche have already taken a swing on a reclamation project this offseason, but some fans believe general manager Joe Sakic isn’t done yet—with calls growing for another gamble, this time on Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright.

Let's cut to the chase. Prior to the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright was widely projected to go first overall. But on draft night, he slipped to fourth. The reasons weren't about skill or hockey sense—those were never in question. Instead, scouts pointed to concerns about his intensity and, at times, his consistency of engagement from shift to shift.

So instead of the Montreal Canadiens taking him first overall, they went with Juraj Slafkovský, and in hindsight, that decision has aged remarkably well. The 6-foot-3 forward has developed into a true cornerstone in Montreal. In just his fourth professional season, the 22-year-old posted his first 30-goal campaign, finished with 73 points, represented Slovakia at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, and added 12 points in 19 postseason games. The Canadiens walked away with a legitimate star and a foundational piece.

The Seattle Kraken selected Wright, and to this point, it simply hasn't gone as planned.

While Slafkovský stepped directly into the NHL, Wright's development took a much different path. His first two professional seasons were split between the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, and the Kraken. During that span, he appeared in just 16 NHL games, recording five goals and two assists.

The last two seasons have been Wright's first real opportunity as a full-time NHL player.

In 2025-26, he appeared to be turning a corner, finishing with 19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points in 79 games. While Seattle missed the playoffs, the season offered encouraging signs that the former fourth-overall pick was beginning to establish himself as an everyday NHL contributor.

That momentum didn't carry over.

With the Kraken finishing 34-37-11 and missing the postseason for a second straight year, Wright's production dipped to 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 74 games. The statistical regression reignited some of the same concerns scouts voiced before the 2022 NHL Draft. His talent has never been the question, but his ability to consistently impact games—particularly when the stakes aren't at their highest—has remained a point of debate throughout his young career.

Whether that's a fair assessment or not, it's become part of Wright's NHL story. Four years after entering the league as one of the most highly touted prospects of his generation, he's still searching for the consistency that made him the consensus No. 1 overall pick—until he wasn't.

That uncertainty has naturally fueled speculation about whether a change of scenery could unlock the player many projected would become a franchise centerpiece. It's also why some Avalanche fans have floated Wright as an intriguing buy-low trade target.

On paper, the fit is easy to understand. Colorado has built a reputation for identifying players whose value has dipped and putting them in positions to succeed alongside an elite core. If Sakic believes Wright's ceiling is still there, acquiring a 22-year-old former top prospect before he fully breaks out is exactly the kind of move contenders occasionally regret passing on.

The timing also makes the conversation more realistic. According to reports, the Kraken and Wright are mutually working toward finding a trade this offseason, meaning Seattle is open to moving the former fourth-overall pick if the right deal materializes.

But should the Avalanche be the team to make that move?

That's where the conversation becomes much more complicated.

Colorado isn't searching for reclamation projects anymore. It's searching for players who can help win another Stanley Cup immediately.

This is a locker room driven by Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Brock Nelson, Martin Nečas and Josh Manson—a veteran core that has built one of the NHL's strongest cultures around accountability, preparation and consistency. MacKinnon, in particular, the reigning Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy winner, has never hidden his expectations. If someone isn't pulling their weight, he'll let them know and sometimes in brutal fashion. It's one of the many reasons Colorado has remained among the league's elite for a number of years now. 

Wright's talent has never been questioned. His consistency has.

Those same questions that followed him into the 2022 NHL Draft—his nightly engagement, intensity and ability to impact games every shift—still linger four years later. While there have been flashes of why he was once viewed as the consensus No. 1 prospect, they haven't become the standard.

Could Colorado's leadership group help him unlock another level? Absolutely.

But that's a different question than whether the Avalanche should spend valuable assets to find out.

The Avalanche have done well to replenish some of their draft capital this offseason and still possess intriguing young assets like goaltenders Ilya Nabokov and Trent Miner, along with defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev. Moving any combination of those pieces—or future draft picks—for a player whose development remains uncertain feels difficult to justify for a team operating squarely within its Stanley Cup window.

Wright may be one of the NHL's most intriguing change-of-scenery candidates this summer. But for a team with championship aspirations and a dressing room built on demanding standards, the risk may ultimately outweigh the reward.