Shane Wright Reflects on Trade to Nashville

The Nashville Predators' blockbuster trade on Sunday afternoon seemed to come out of nowhere. While it had seemed clear that Shane Wright would be on his way out of the Seattle Kraken organization at some point, it didn't seem imminent. Then, all of a sudden, Wright was heading to Nashville while Matthew Wood was sent to the Pacific Northwest. 

Wright spoke with the local media after his first practice with the Predators on Monday. "I'm super excited," the 22-year-old center said. "[I'm] really looking forward to being here [and] being a part of this group.

The former fourth-overall pick then spoke about his departure from the Kraken. "I wouldn't say we requested a trade," he said. "I just always wanted a little more opportunity, I wanted to have more minutes, wanted to play a bigger role. Whether that was in Seattle or somewhere else, I was happy to do that."

"I'm still young, so I want to be here for a number of years, be part of something special here," Wright said about his opportunity in Nashville. "[I] want to be part of a winning group and obviously the goal is winning the Stanley Cup."

On an individual level, Wright is hoping to contribute quite a bit right out of the gate. "I want to play fast," he said. "I want to pressure their players, make it hard for them. Hopefully bring a lot of offense. I want to bring a lot of speed and energy to the game."

Speed-wise, Wright was in the 64th percentile leaguewide last season according to NHL Edge, with a top speed of 22.49 miles per hour. For comparison, that speed would've been the sixth-fastest on the Predators last season and the team had just 30 bursts of speed above 22 MPH.

Wright is making it clear that he wants a bigger opportunity to show what he can accomplish moving forward. Considering Andrew Brunette appears to be starting him next to Filip Forsberg and Nils Hoglander on the second line, he's getting an opportunity to do so right out of the gate in Nashville.