Shane Wright's future in Seattle got murkier Wednesday night, as the Kraken center picked up five reported trade suitors.
Bleacher Report tied the 22 year old to the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks.
Wright has 27 points in 74 games this season, with 12 goals and 15 assists. He carries a manageable cap hit of 886,667 dollars.
His production has cooled lately. Over his last 10 games he has just 1 goal and 2 assists, and he sits at a minus-1 rating in that stretch.
Seattle enters this offseason at 34-37-11, sitting 27th overall and 6th in its division. The Kraken finished on a three game losing skid.
That kind of finish tends to open the door to change, and a young centerman who has not broken out yet is an easy name to float around.
The interesting wrinkle here is Vancouver. Seattle went 3-1 against the Canucks this season, so Wright has already had success against one suggested new home.
Wright's stalled development fuels the speculation
Wright arrived in Seattle with real pedigree and the expectation he would grow into a top six centerpiece. Instead he is still searching for a real role.
Carolina and Montreal both bring winning environments. The Hurricanes sit second overall at 113 points, and the Canadiens have piled up 106.
Landing in either spot would mean a fresh start, but it would also mean fighting for minutes on a team that already has its middle six sorted out.
Philadelphia and Boston offer something different. Neither is buried in the standings, and both could use a young center who still carries some upside.
Vancouver is the outlier. The Canucks finished 25-49-8, dead last at 58 points, and would represent the biggest role and the biggest risk for Wright.
None of this means Seattle is actively shopping him. Bleacher Report's list is speculation, not confirmation, and general managers rarely tip their hand in July.
But when a young player with real pedigree starts showing up in trade columns instead of top line projections, it usually means patience somewhere is running thin.
Wright is still only 22. Plenty of players his age needed a change of scenery before the tools translated into consistent NHL production.
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Whether that scenery change happens with the Kraken's blessing or someone else's initiative is the part nobody outside the front office actually knows yet.
Should the Kraken actually trade Shane Wright this offseason?
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