Kraken and – Late Friday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Shane Wright is likely to be moved this summer. Wright’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, confirmed talks with Kraken GM Jason Botterill, while the club is said to want a fair price and won’t be pushed into
For months, the talk has hovered around Shane Wright: not whether the Seattle Kraken believe in him, but whether they believe in the version of him they’ve been getting.
Late Friday night, that question sharpened. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Wright is headed for a move, quoting Wright’s agent, Kurt Overhardt. “I can confirm that we have had positive conversations with GM Jason Botterill. and he has agreed to move Shane this summer to a team in need of a top young center.”.
Friedman didn’t pull a direct reaction from Botterill. but the reporting carried a second. equally important note: “Executives who’ve spoken to Seattle said there’s obviously an agreement between team and agent to work together.” The message from the Kraken. however. sounded tougher. “the Kraken made it extremely clear they expect a fair price and won’t be pressured into anything they don’t want to do.”.
That’s the tension now: what the Kraken can get versus what Wright’s camp thinks he is. Overhardt’s framing—Wright as a “top young center”—may not match how Seattle will value him once the team starts describing him publicly.
Wright’s production, for all its flashes, has been a sticking point for exactly that reason. In the totals the Kraken once dreamed of, Wright has 36 goals and 42 assists. But it took him 169 games spread across two full seasons and parts of two others to reach those numbers. For a player the franchise selected with so much hope, expectations have always arrived faster than results.
Shayna Goldman of The Athletic wrote a blunt May assessment (paywall) that summed up why the patience ran thin. “While he hasn’t always had All-Star linemates to lift him up. the Kraken have done a lot to insulate him to maximize his strengths. and he still hasn’t become a difference-maker.” Goldman also described a low point in the fan-and-player conversation. saying a cohort of her work labeled Wright as Seattle’s “Most disappointing player. ” adding. “The Kraken’s inability to find or develop a star-level player is the story of the franchise after its first half-decade.”.
Still, the Kraken’s own public messaging tried to keep the story moving toward a breakthrough.
In the fall, there were reasons for optimism. Kraken columnist Bob Condor calculated that Wright was on a 11-goal pace in the final 31 games of 2024-25. writing that it “flirts with a 30-goal season.” Condor also pointed to the player’s goal-scoring after sitting out three games as a healthy last scratch last November. then citing “17 goals in 50 games” as another indicator aligning with the 30-goal mark.
The organization leaned into the same idea. Coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s had a great camp. ” while strength coach Nate Brookreson added. “Shane is among our top players in overall fitness.” Botterill followed with a puck-confidence message: “You see him making more plays out there. having more confidence with the puck.”.
But the season numbers didn’t keep that momentum. Wright’s goal total dropped from 19 two seasons ago to just 12 last year.
As the gap between promise and output widened. reports of frustration didn’t disappear—they just kept resurfacing in different forms. Way back in January. sources told David Pagnotta of The 4th Period: “The Seattle Kraken are open to moving Shane Wright. They’ve been searching for a top-six forward and packaging Wright might get them that.” Pagnotta also relayed that the center wouldn’t necessarily be reluctant. “I don’t get the sense that Shane Wright is overly thrilled with his usage lately. He wants to have more responsibility. He wants to have more ice time. There’s a little bit of disappointment there with respect to his usage from his side of things.”.
Friedman later confirmed what had been circulating. “The Shane Wright stuff, that he’s available and out there and the Kraken are considering moving him – that’s real.”
Wright himself tried to tamp down the speculation when asked about it. In January, he said, “I don’t really care too much about that. At the end of day, it’s just rumors. I’m not too worried about that. I’m focused on the team here and winning hockey games. That’s all I care about.”
The speculation didn’t stop. In February. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said. “If Seattle can find the scoring it needs in a trade. ” Wright “would absolutely be someone the team would entertain moving.” Kypreos argued that the market could still exist even after the production drop. adding that “The collection of NHL teams eager to get younger on the pro roster might want to take a shot at Wright’s upside.”.
Then, on March 2nd, Friedman returned to the idea in his 32 Thoughts podcast, speculating Seattle still sought “Somebody who juices their lineup offensively,” and naming Wright as a possible trade chip.
Last month, Pagnotta wrote, “Wright is still available and remains open to a move. Botterill continues to scour the market. Teams continue to poke, and sources say the Philadelphia Flyers recently entered the chat.”
Whatever comes next, it will land inside a relationship that began with shock and elation.
When the Kraken drafted and later acquired Wright—tied directly to their first-round pick. 4th overall in 2022—observers were stunned that he fell into their lap. The reporting notes that former Kraken general manager Ron Francis was “elated” at the time. For much of the preceding year. Wright was rumored to be the first player taken. and he had said in an interview he should be.
The junior résumé behind that belief was eye-catching: in 141 OHL games split between the Kingston Frontenacs and Windsor Spitfires, Wright scored 86 goals and 197 points.
Now, the scouting conversation shifts. Chris Johnston wrote in The Athletic in February that Wright “profiles as an intriguing two-way center.” Kraken coach Lane Lambert also publicly extolled Wright’s improved 200-foot game in a media availability after the season.
Johnston added a constraint that matters for the trade market: “(He) will likely only be moved in a trade that sees a player with similar upside going back to Seattle. The Kraken like their organizational depth down the middle and are looking for a game-breaking winger.”
So the breakup, if it happens, won’t just be about moving a player. It will be about protecting the franchise’s middle-of-the-ice plan while admitting the original path didn’t deliver the star trajectory that a top pick promised.
There’s also the question hockey fans will keep asking once the details are finalized: what went wrong, if anything.
When people look back a decade from now, they’ll have answers we don’t. Did the Kraken fail Shane Wright through uneven lineup usage, constantly changing coaches, and lack of supporting talent?. Or did Wright fail the Kraken. squandering the team’s belief that a 4th overall pick should have been their Celebrini or Bedard or McKenna?. And could this relationship have been saved?.
For now, the only certainty is the one Overhardt and Botterill appear to have reached: this summer, Shane Wright is expected to be moved—while the Kraken insist the return has to be fair, and won’t be forced.
Shane Wright Seattle Kraken Jason Botterill Kurt Overhardt trade rumors NHL offseason top young center Bob Condor Lane Lambert Ron Francis