Shane Wright addresses if he requested trade from Seattle Kraken

Shane Wright is moving on to the next chapter of his NHL career after the Seattle Kraken traded the former No. 4 overall draft pick to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

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The 22-year-old Wright spoke to reporters Monday after joining the Predators, and he addressed whether or not the trade was something he and his camp requested from the Kraken.

“I wouldn’t say, like, we requested a trade,” Wright replied, as shown in a video posted to social media by Predators beat reporter Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean. “I think for me, 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. But now (I’m) moving on from that situation, and I’m happy to be here.”

Wright, a forward who scored four points including three goals in 14 games this season for Seattle, debuted with the Kraken with eight games at 18 years old in 2022. Though he was projected to the top pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, he slipped to Seattle three spots later and never reached his star potential with the Kraken.

The early-season trade of Wright was not necessarily unexpected, other than it occurred later than some thought. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in Canada reported in July that Wright’s agent Kurt Overhardt said Kraken general manager Jason Botterill had “agreed to move” Wright to a new team during the offseason.

“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,” Overhardt said at the time, per Friedman.

Botterill declined comment on the situation in July, Friedman said.

The 6-foot, 192-pound Wright scored 27 points in 74 games in 2025-26, a considerable step back from his career-high of 44 points in 79 games in 2024-25. He was a subject of trade rumors throughout last season.

Seattle acquired 21-year-old forward Matthew Wood from Nashville for Wright in the one-for-one trade of former first-round picks on Sunday.

The 6-4, 202-pound Wood was born in Alberta and grew up on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo, British Columbia, which is roughly 130 miles from Seattle as the crow flies. Wood played in college at Minnesota and UConn and was picked 15th overall in the 2023 draft. He has 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 91 career games since debuting with Nashville late in the 2025-26 season.

Wood’s debut with Seattle will likely be Wednesday’s home game against Calgary, while Wright and the Predators are set to play Tuesday against Carolina.

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