So! As we come into the Olympic Break, we see that there’s a mini-trade deadline forming, as the truncated schedule is making teams take a hard look at themselves over the next couple of weeks and make some hard decisions about their rosters, their direction, and their chances of making the NHL playoffs.
Naturally, this has led to questions about the Kraken, who have indicated they may become sellers at the deadline even with a wildcard spot in hand. So! Let’s see where the Kraken are when it comes to the rumor mill; there’s always a lot of them!
Oh okay we’re getting dumb this year. Got it.
Who reported it?
Reports about potential Shane Wright trade rumors began with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period noting that Seattle was looking for an upgrade for their top 6, and that Wright could be a major piece of that. This was followed up on by TSN’s Darren Dreger.
Why this might have some merit
Shane Wright’s career in Seattle has been, since the moment he fell into their laps, a great big case of “what if?”.
Juraj Slafkovsky’s meteoric rise in his draft year combined with a mildly disappointing postseason dropped Wright directly into Seattle’s lap in a particularly grim year, making it feel like they had at least something resembling a plan. Draft high caliber 200-ft game two way Centers, then build around them. It’s about as foolproof a plan as you can get. Might take a little while, certainly less explosive than Vegas’ model, but it can survive.
Wright in his first year as a rookie clearly wasn’t ready, but that’s okay, they can just…well…they ran into a particular snag in what they wanted to do with him; namely they ran into the CHL/AHL rules that force players under the age of 18 to stay in Canadian Junior. By all accounts, he should have been on Coachella Valley’s first two runs at the Calder Trophy and learned a lot about the professional game there…but thanks to these rules that were amended years after he left, he still had obligations to the CHL that needed to be met, and to the Kraken’s credit, they tried desperately to get him playing as much pro or international hockey as they could, but it still left him in a bizarre limbo where his early development as an NHLer was hamstrung.
The results are, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, pretty up and down. 18 points in 51 games, 7 of which are goals, and limited time on special teams. All of his up and down career currently resulting in 69 points in 146 games played, and analytics that look like they’re actively fighting him.
Not exactly where we expected Shane to be by this point, to be sure.
Further, with the issues that this player has generated, maybe the time has come for Shane to be given the chance to find his own way on another team. After all, the Kraken as they are are at best a cute Cinderella run for the Stanley Cup and if they managed to get that second wildcard spot would be staring down the barrel of a much, much, much scarier Colorado than the one they faced previously. Maybe thinking about the future and whether or not it makes sense to keep putting this player in a position to struggle with Lane Lambert’s system is fair to him and to the team isn’t the worst idea.
Why it doesn’t make sense
All of the above is fine…in theory, but the biggest hurdle to overcome with Shane Wright is the simple little fact that the Kraken still very much need him. Even if he’s not performing to the level expected or hoped.
This season has made it clear that the Kraken still need Centers and badly, and even if Shane’s slumping, he still counts for that and has been playing adequately. Maybe not as flashy as his cohorts, but adequately. Wright’s ability to generate Expected Goals as well as high-danger shot attempts per 60 is currently 4th on the team behind Nyman, Meyers, and McCann; which suggests while yes, he is going through some warts in his game, he is at least trending in the right direction, where older players aren’t. There are certain other centers that could take his place and play far, far, far worse with extended minutes on this very team, and then force you to come up with a solution to plug the hole that Shane left. Meaning you’ll have to get creative, or potentially stunt more development by bringing up a player slightly too early.
Further, let’s make something clear; Shane Wright’s struggles are almost entirely Seattle’s fault.
Shane of course is the guy who plays those games, so it is on him to make the best of the time he’s given, but it took three coaches, one of whom he actually seemed to like playing for, to show some promise and it just hasn’t translated on coach #3 after being jerked around because he was in the most awkward position imaginable of needing to be in the CHL even though he himself didn’t need the CHL. Moving on from him now would be an admission of defeat and a major blow to the Ron Francis regime; one they may not come back from if the Kraken fail to make the playoffs.
Further, Wright has shown flashes of becoming something more, so perhaps the issue isn’t necessarily Wright, but who he’s playing with at the moment. Maybe if he’s actually trusted by Lane Lambert to take larger roles on things, he could actually blossom into a good player!
Who would be in on it if they tried?
While all 31 other teams could be in on it, there are some teams who are unquestionably Looking To Do Business already, and may become trade partners looking for some Center help.
Rangers
There are a lot of speculators looking at the Rangers, who have thrown in the towel on the regular season and are looking to retool, who see an avenue here for the Blueshirts to do deals with the Deep Blue. The reasons are at least surface-level understandable; they need centers and desperately need younger ones who understand how to manage top 6 minutes, and the Kraken and Rangers have already done business together multiple times. It stands to reason then that they’d try to get in on this.
Who would they want to trade to Seattle?
Alexis Lafreniere is the principal name linked, however it should be noted that much of this is fans trying desperately to rid themselves and the Rangers of Lafreniere and his very big contract that goes on for many big years after being a disappointing offensive presence in comparison to the flashy talents around him; to the point of actively writing fanfiction on how it could go. Lafreniere is actually genuinely very good; being the second best forward on the Rangers in creating quality chances over a 60 minute game through the last few years that’s stuck around…but it just hasn’t translated into goals. I personally look at this player’s on-ice analytics and see someone you should at least consider listening in on and carefully…just keep an eye on what they want you to pay.
Granted, it seems like the Rangers fanbase would take any old trade that gets him off their roster, so who knows if they’d actually take Shane if cap relief was what they were looking for.
Alternatively, there is someone the Kraken just barely have enough cap room to get on the Rangers and would be very funny to scuttle some hopes at the deadline…but that’s purely as a thought experiment I had at Panera. I’d be more willing to hear them out on Laf first.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues are one of the many teams in the Central who are desperately trying to figure themselves out in year two of Jim Montgomery’s tenure as a head coach. While they are unquestionably talented and appear to have largely come out on top of their trade with Edmonton, they are an absolute tire fire otherwise. Injury has done a number on them of course, but the crushing reality they face is that their contention window closed a while ago, and their best and most valuable players are either starting to get old, or already very, very old.
Thus, there’s a real feeling that the Blues could become aggressive on the trade market as the Deadline comes into view as they need to begin thinking about the next generation of player to guard the Gateway to the West. They need cap relief, they desperately need to get younger, and they need healthy bodies.
They could get some of those things from a deal for Shane. But what they have to offer back? Maybe puts them out of reach.
Who would they want to trade to Seattle?
The Blues are, at least to me, aren’t looking to deal with teams that are struggling to get a playoff spot; they’re looking to deal with teams that are looking for Veteran presence, and that will put them quite out of Seattle’s needs: Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, all are quite old and maybe better suited to playing for teams that are actually expecting to get out of round one, and are certainly not worth a Shane Wright.
There are however, two names that should keep you interested.
Jordan Kyrou is having a nightmare season in St. Louis, because in many ways he’s actually their best forward; a two-way player who plays hard, has great underlying numbers, does defense pretty well…and just cannot get it to translate at all in Jim Montgomery’s system, to the point he’s actually been scratched before. The Kraken have kicked the tires on Kyrou before, and to his credit he hasn’t actually fallen off much but simply hasn’t been able to find the goalscoring might that his rookie season suggested. A change of scenery might be just what they need.
Robert Thomas’ name has been out in the rumor mill all year, which would be A) a sure sign that the team is trying to actively tank and B) would be the kind of shot in the arm that instantly changes the way a team is seen if you can somehow pry him off of their lineup. He’s currently on IR, but Thomas is the 2-way center you’ve always dreamed of…but I just can’t fathom the Blues being that desperate unless they think this is how the rest of their season and going into next is going to go.
But hey! If they’re offering, it would be rude to not hear them out!
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Jackets are getting increasingly towards the point where they need to start thinking about whether or not they can actually climb back into the playoffs with the rest of the East around them starting to calcify. While they aren’t out of it entirely, the amount of points that separate them and Boston is getting higher and higher and they haven’t quite gotten the multi game win streaks that the Penguins, Sabres, Lightning, and even the Panthers have gotten lately.
They are an outside candidate due to their Center depth being decent as it is right now and their issues are not necessarily related to their ability to win faceoffs and the like, but they could end up looking to make some painful decisions about their roster come the end of the Olympics.
Who would they want to trade to Seattle?
More than their needs, the players who have been bandied about for potential trade targets is why I consider the Jackets to be an outside candidate; all of their useful trade chips are guys like Boone Jenner; a major shot in the arm as depth pieces on teams that are sleep walking to the playoffs; veterans who work hard and would finally get the chance they deserve to compete for something meaningful…but not for Seattle. They already have plenty of veteran leadership, and that’s not gonna change with time. Their most intriguing younger prospect already got shipped to their rivals in Pittsburgh bafflingly enough, and appears to have come alive under their care.
However, they may yet wish to make a decision in a similar way to Wright with other, younger players on their roster, someone like Kent Johnston, who is extremely talented, but frequently struggling in the Blue Jackets system. I think the Kraken have done at least a decent enough job with the reclamation projects from the Metropolitan division, but it would be a fairly impressive one to pull off now, and would definitely be a tough sell.
Vancouver Canucks
Maybe a lesser candidate due to familiarity and also being a division rival, but frankly the Canucks could use all the younger, cost controlled players that may or may not be any good to help get their rebuild started. They’re taking calls on everybody, and I do mean everybody, so it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to at least hear them out if they come a-callin’.
Who would they want to trade to Seattle?
They have to pick? Couldn’t you just make an offer on someone? They’ll listen, they’ve got Puckpedia open and a calculator. They can make this work if you really want!
In all seriousness, it feels like the bigges thing they want to get out from under is Elias Pettersson’s contract given his struggles; of which there are both many and almost all self-inflicted. He is being paid many dollars for many years, and as of right now Pettersson is not worth 11 million per year…but he’s not worth nothing, and recently has experienced a dramatic improvement to his game. He’d be a helluva reclamation project, but there are still signs of an all-timer player within him.
The Kraken would probably have to insist on another boat anchor going the other way if not a generous splitting of the money, so I think unless they can get a great deal they may be looking elsewhere.
But should they actually go through with it if the offer presents itself?
If you make this decision, and if he really is up for grabs, it must be an out and out runaway success for Seattle.
While the season has gone perhaps better than expected, Seattle is a doubted team. They are a doubted franchise. The organization already has quite a few side eyes cast upon it from outside the PNW for a deep confusion about the organization’s direction, and from plenty of fans as well who are deeply, deeply annoyed by how this saga has gone. People are mad at Ron, people aren’t super happy with Botterill because they’re concerned about how much sway he actually has, and in general the vibe around the organization has been tied almost entirely to how the team is playing at any given point, which thanks to the Pacific Division and their uneven roster construction has been a roller coaster.
Shane Wright is in many ways an avatar for where the shortcomings of the team have born evil, sickly fruit. He is the sin-eater that all point to and say “this is what’s wrong with the Kraken” if it isn’t an older player’s Puckpedia page. He certainly isn’t, but what he represents is the real evil here.
If you decide that you need to make this move, the results need to be an out-and-out improvement of the team. This needs to be either a trade both sides come away from better, or an active fleecing. 99% of fans and experts need to agree on that.
Or…You could try to make this work.
I don’t think it is impossible to make it work, I don’t think Shane Wright is completely washed, and I don’t think the Kraken are incapable of making that happen. It will take careful work, and your expectations on what Shane Wright can be may have to change, but it can happen.
The choice is yours, GM Jason.
Personally? Unless you get a great offer? Shane can stay right where he is.