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Rebuilding teams don’t typically attract hockey players. And Canadian markets have had a harder time than most of late doing the same thing. So it’s a little odd but mostly nice when a player makes it known that he would like to come to a place like Vancouver and a team like the Canucks, which is in obvious tear-it-down rebuild mode at the moment. 

Brendan Gallagher made such a decision earlier this summer, and that wasn’t exactly a surprise, given his roots in the area. 

But news broke this week that Shane Wright, the embattled Seattle Kraken centre and former No. 4 overall pick would prefer that his next team be the Vancouver Canucks.

Earlier this summer, it was made public that Wright and the team had agreed on a change of scenery for the forward. Then, news came out via Province writer Ben Kuzma that Wright would actually prefer to go to Vancouver. 

The reporting included the tidbit that he wants to come to the Canucks because “of what the club could become in a few years.” 

(We’re not exactly sure if a lie detector would bring back a clean test here—there are many other teams in the league with bright futures, at least at the moment. If Wright wants to live in a beautiful city where the No.1 centre spot is open, then yeah that makes perfect sense. But it sounds a lot better to talk about the team’s on-ice future than it does Wright’s own goals.)

After being hailed as the number one pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft for a long time prior, Wright fell at the draft table as the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Arizona Coyotes passed on him. His supposed staredown of the Canadiens’ table when he went up to the stage is the stuff of legend. 

So far, his NHL career has seen ups and downs. He scored 44 points in 79 games in his rookie season with Seattle. That’s good. Last year though, he only put up 27 points in 74 contests. Sure, no one on the Kraken was particularly great offensively last year—Jordan Eberle led the team with 55 points—but it was a major sophomore step-back, to the point that Seattle is OK with getting rid of a player they once viewed as a franchise cornerstone. And while he only received just under 14 minutes of ice time per night, it wasn’t much less than he had gotten the previous season. 

The analytics tell an interesting story. Wright has been a positive possession player for both full seasons with the Kraken, both overall and relative to his teammates. But he also started over 70 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone last year. 

https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/2055307390388457662?lang=en

Reportedly, Seattle is after young Canucks defencemen Zeev Buium and Tom Willander. That doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Canucks in terms of where the team is at in its rebuilding process. Yes, they could use a young blue-chip number one centre (though it’s not at all clear that Wright is that), but ideally not at the cost of another core young piece. 

On the Vancouver side, the Canucks would love to throw the Kraken a veteran player like, say, Jake Debrusk, who has been rumoured to be on the move anyway. The problem there is that the Kraken are chock full of decent middle-six players who don’t really move the needle. We don’t see how Debrusk helps that. 

So let’s fire up the ol’ Trade Generator and see what if we can hammer out a fair deal for both sides. 

First, let’s get Claude to weigh in. We asked the AI assistant to create a fair trade for both sides that would send Wright to the Canucks. 

Claude AI:

To Vancouver Canucks: 

C Shane Wright

To Seattle Kraken:

Forward Aatu Räty 

Defenceman Victor Mancini 

Vancouver’s 2027 2nd-round pick

I do think the Canucks would probably think about this deal. Räty may have a little more to give the Canucks, but he’s likely settling in as a depth centre. Mancini has shown flashes as well, but wasn’t able to consistently earn a spot in the Canucks’ lineup. Vancouver doesn’t want to part with early picks, and that could be the issue. They do have the Sharks’ 2027 second-rounder, and that would be the more enticing option to give Seattle. 

On the Seattle side, it’s hard to see the Kraken signing off on this. Wright was once their brightest prospect. After one down year they trade him for spare parts? Don’t think so. 

Let’s head to Reddit. 

Vancouver Canucks Reddit:

There’s not a ton of enthusiasm to be found here for Wright. Most fans just agree that the Canucks should not overpay for the 22-year-old. 

Many suggest Debrusk, as to be expected. Some also wonder if forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki should be in any prospective deal. Like Wright, Lekkerimäki is a former high draft pick from 2022 who hasn’t fully worked out thus far. 

The issue here is that Wright is much further along in his progression as an NHLer (it’s still not clear if Lekkerimäki is one, though he has had success in the AHL). 

The smart money is on the Canucks holding Lekkerimaki for now, as they hope that new coach Manny Malhotra can find the same success for the Swede that he found for him in the AHL, where he was a point-per-game player on a struggling team last year. Some wouldn’t even want to do Lekkerimäki for Wright straight up, which tells you that homer fanbases are a bit of a problem when it comes to crafting a fair trade.

Seattle Kraken Reddit:

On a post about the reports claiming the Kraken asked for Buium or Willander, many Kraken fans were happy that their GM Jason Botteril was at least asking that question. 

As for what they’d actually like to see in a return… well, a few users entertained the idea of Wright for Elias Pettersson.  

It’s an interesting question. If there’s no salary retention, the Canucks probably do this deal. The team has been looking to trade Pettersson and moving his entire contract and, how do we say this, not-great attitude, out of town for a player who is younger and has a decent amount of untapped potential, could be the way forward. 

Do the Kraken do this? Probably not, especially without 50-percent salary retention, which the Canucks won’t want to do. The Kraken are desperate for a star. But Pettersson’s last couple of seasons have put him right around many of other Kraken forwards in terms of production—players who are perfectly fine, defensively sound top-9 guys who can score 55 points. 

It’s interesting, but it’s probably a tad too complicated on both sides.

Knowledgeable Canucks fans that are friends of mine:

Fortunately, I have many knowledgeable Canucks fans as friends. They keep me sane during times like these. I asked a few of them for their opinion on what an acceptable package from the Canucks would look like for Wright. 

Knowledgeable Canucks Fan #1: 

I’m a non-believer. Debrusk and change. I trust [Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson] won’t do anything shitty.

Knowledgeable Canucks Fan #2: 

Debrusk and a pick. I don’t like Wright. And I don’t want to spend any assets on anything like Wright. 

Knowledgeable Canucks Fan #3: 

I’m not really sure what kind of player Wright is. He’s been so hidden away in Seattle. Maybe Debrusk and Mancini. 

Knowledgeable Canucks Fan #4: 

Realistically, EP’s contract makes me think we need to give more than Petey up. But I don’t think Wright is all that good. I think Canucks may want to try and get more than just Wright out of it and might want a prospect. 

So maybe like Shane Wright and [forward prospect Jagger Firkus] for Petey and a 3rd-round pick. Although I don’t know why Seattle wants Petey. Seattle wants Buium or Willander?! That makes no sense. 

So there you have it. It doesn’t really look like there’s an ideal fit here for a trade that all sides might be able to agree on, especially before the season begins.