In a summer of eyebrow-raising moments for the Seattle Kraken, another such instance occurred last week when Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned in an article that Shane Wright’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, had gone on record to confirm that he had requested a trade for the 22-year-old center.
This wasn’t the most shocking news—Wright’s name had been percolating in trade rumors since the middle of the 2025-26 season, and there had been a growing sense that he wanted out of Seattle. Overhardt’s comments effectively confirmed what many already suspected.
The way the quote was worded, though, with Overhardt stating that Seattle had “agreed” to move Wright, has since been questioned. After all, there’s little reason Kraken general manager Jason Botterill would let it be known to his competitors that he is committed to moving the player, taking away any leverage he might have in trying to get a fair return for the former No. 4 overall pick, who famously dropped from consensus top-pick status just before the 2022 NHL Draft.
Do we believe Botterill has tried to work out a trade to give Wright a new home while also getting a decent return? Yes. Do we believe he’s willing to hold onto a player whose representation has gone public in indicating that he wants out? Also yes.
That said, we have asked around, and we get the sense that Shane Wright’s camp remains optimistic the Kraken will be able to move the center this offseason.
How did we get here?
It is a shame the Kraken have gotten to this position with their once-prized forward prospect. There’s no question Wright fell short of the lofty expectations the organization had for him this past season, especially after his 19-goal rookie campaign in 2024-25 under then-head coach Dan Bylsma, who also oversaw Wright’s successful AHL stint when he scored 22 goals and 25 assists in just 59 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023-24.
But something changed this past season under new head coach Lane Lambert. It was clear coming into Training Camp that the Kraken hoped to see Wright take hold of the No. 2 center spot and slide Chandler Stephenson into a bottom-six role.
It is our belief that this was always the plan: Wright would continue to progress and push his way higher up the lineup, while Stephenson would gradually move into a more suitable role after serving as a bridge top-six center and giving Wright time to develop into that position.
That didn’t happen, at least not this past season.
Although Lambert never admitted it publicly, it did seem there were trust issues preventing him from simply handing Wright the bigger role many fans thought he deserved. Wright’s protected minutes and carefully managed face-off deployment offer clues as to what Lambert wanted to see improved, and the coach’s end-of-season presser also implied there was an emphasis on Wright continuing to develop away from the puck.
“Everybody’s going to look at Shane Wright’s season and go, ‘Oh, gee, he had this many points [this year], and he had that many points last year,’” Lambert said. “Ask Shane if he feels like he’s a better player now than he was at the beginning of the year, and the answer would be yes, he does. Sometimes the points can fool you a little bit. I thought Shane got stronger defensively, I thought he got stronger on face-offs, and I thought he improved his 200-foot game. And what I see about that is that that’s a better formula for the future with him than in the past.”
Lambert was making a case that this past season was good for Wright because it helped him form more of a foundation for becoming a complete NHL player. If he can build on that foundation and layer the offensive production back on, then he is on a path toward a successful career.
But Wright apparently does not view it that way and instead believes he is more likely to find that success faster with another organization.
The Kraken have taken a few knocks over the past year, with players like Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson rejecting trades to Seattle, and now Wright asking to be moved. For what it’s worth, our understanding is that Wright’s trade request does not have anything to do with the city or its fanbase, but rather with finding a place where he believes he has a better opportunity to flourish.
Where do the Kraken go from here?
Again, Botterill does not have to move Wright. If he trades him now, he could be selling low on a player who took a step backward offensively in his sophomore season.
There’s no question, though, that having the trade request become public puts unwanted pressure on the organization to make a deal and likely costs it some leverage, as opposing teams know there’s a desire to get something done. Plus, there’s the lingering potential for serious awkwardness if, come Training Camp, Wright is still a member of the Kraken.
What Botterill and the front office have to remember is that Wright should still be a hot commodity. After all, he is a 22-year-old center who is just one season removed from scoring 19 goals, and he still possesses considerable upside. If the Kraken do move him, it feels likely that he will break out with his new team. That means Seattle has to be careful and patient. They can’t just ship Wright out because he wants to be moved; it has to be a deal that also helps the Kraken.
We’d love to see the kind of trade that brings back a player in a similar situation: a young, skilled forward in need of a change of scenery and fresh start. Somebody who, like Wright, has upside but can also contribute to the Kraken’s roster immediately.
And if Botterill can’t find that? Well, then things could get a little awkward in September.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Good stuff Darren… thanks.
Rather than a forward, how about someone like Alexander Nikishin in Carolina? They’re notoriously tight on negotiating contracts and while he’s not offer sheet eligible, his deal could be steep. Shane being on an ELC for another year has got to be appealing to Tom Dundon. Furthermore, if Seattle were willing to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi and then buy him out, it would be a cheap way to sweeten the deal.
Just a thought…
only “issue” i have with this idea is Nikishin will more than likely command 7+ mil a year (in todays market potentially 9, i heard 7 was his ask before the world lost its mind) and if chase reid is who we think he will be and montour stays montour, nikishin will be 3rd pair. on the one hand, you have 3 powerplay capable RHD, which is nice but unnecessary. personally think wright can contribute more than Nikishin. this is all assuming we trade Dunn somewhere related to this move (maybe to anaheim with some firsts for gaulthier?)
if we trade and combination of wright, mccann, dunn and some firsts (not next years and not the next 4, thats rough unless we are getting celebrini lmao) and came back with nikishin and gaulthier id be over the freaking moon, regardless of how much i would miss canner, dunn and wrighter.
also i know im banging away on this gaulthier thing harder than it makes sense to, i just dont see how anaheim keeps him now without having a terrible team otherwise. at this point the ducks are 3 great young forwards, injured troy terry, a dman they were going to trade and now overpaid on and dostal. before free agency and the offer sheet i would have told you the ducks are going to be a problem for the next 8 years, now? as pennywise said “we all float down here” welcome to the mushy middle ducks.
With Reid still two seasons away and 32 year old Montour’s trade protection dropping to 16 teams after next season, I’m not sure I see a “logjam” as an issue.
Anaheim is absolutely not moving Gauthier. Good stuff though.
If the plan was truly that Stephenson was supposed to bridge the gap until Shane was ready to be C2, Francis didn’t execute it very well because you don’t sign a 30yo center to a 7-year, $6 million contract to be a bridge – that’s just a horrible roster construction on Ron’s part. There were so many other directions they could have gone to accomplish the exact same thing than signing anyone to a seven-year deal (with a four year No Movement Clause). And that’s not even taking into account the severe issues with Stephenson’s game.
Just a bad and unnecessary move all around – and now it’s causing a severe problem: Wright hasn’t developed AND the Kraken are stuck with Stephenson for the foreseeable future. Yikes.
Chandler isn’t blocking anyone and when the contract was signed everyone knew the value wouldn’t matter much. It’s not the end of the world to pay a 3C 6 million anymore.
Not even gonna touch the “not based in reality” comment about his game
Wrights development issues are Wrights. They have nothing to do with Chandler. Stephenson isn’t causing Shane to be a liability in the D zone. He isn’t making Shane miss the new more than most players on the roster. He’s not causing Shane to put the pieces together at a glacial pace while Catton comes in and does more in less time…
So many other directions???
I won’t ask for specifics because I still remember John and Darren asking Curtis at the time… “What were the alternatives?”
Alex Wennberg was not willing to re-sign in Seattle. The other options were to – according to Curtis at the time – bring Pierre-Edouard Bellemare back or someone like Blake Lizzote. I really liked PEB, but he signed a PTO with Colorado and never played in the NHL again. Blake Lizzote is a 5’9″ bottom of the lineup center who has managed around 13 minutes a night and would have offered absolutely no cover to the 20 and 21 year old centers the Kraken would have been throwing to the wolves. I hear it all the time around the NHL, “there are so many directions teams can go when it comes to centers”.
I’m sorry, but parading out this old take that honestly hasn’t aged well is just so tiresome. When nobody batted an eye over 34 year old Charlie Coyle signing the same contract last month, I knew anyone clinging to the dollars and term on Stephenson had no idea what they were talking about. Fans and the media love to live in the past… just like Pat Verbeek. Severe problem? Whatever dude.
I agree Matt.
We’re not going to do anything this year, so they might as well put Wright on the second line, Stephenson on the third, and let Wright play his way into a trade that would help both parties at the deadline.
You think giving Wright more d-zone draws is going to improve his draft stock? I could see “put him on PP1”, but I’m not sure depressing his xGF% is going to help.
I love Shane, and I want him to be happy and successful, but respectfully…I don’t think we should move him over the summer. He really has very little leverage; he’s on an ELC and just had a down year. Finding a trade partner that has a growth opportunity for him to become a top-six center AND is willing to part with something the Kraken need (a scoring winger) is pretty tough. Best case scenario might be something like you mentioned at the end, a reclamation project for reclamation project young player who has the potential to flourish with a change of scenery. But if that doesn’t materialize…I think you have to tell the guy to suck it up and come to camp. If he picks up his production during the season it’ll be a lot easier to move him, if that’s still what he wants.
What a disappointment this has all been. Shane’s career was totally derailed due to Covid where is essentially didn’t play for over a year. He then gets gifted to the Kraken who seemingly didn’t know how to develop his play. Now, it’s all possible that the scouting on him was all wrong and he was never going to be the player many thought he could be but the signing of Stevenson essentially blocked his growth I think. His value is likely to never be higher than it is now and both parties need to move on. It’s a bummer but in order to better the team he needs to go.
Now, let’s talk about offer-sheeting Fantilli….
If we really need to move him before September, maybe a straight up 1-for-1 trade for Kent Johnson.
I did not stop being a fan of the Kraken over this but from management on down to poor choices for coaches has me questioning my decision. They have had nothing but disrespect towards Shane and the minutes he gets when players with less skills and placed ahead of him. He is one of the best 2 way players on the team. He has never had steady linemates and then they expect him to perform. We take on players from other teams and and they get placed ahead of Shane. I do not think Shane will change his mind about being trade but who ever gets him will surely get a great player. It is no wonder players do not want to come here. Vancouver did the same thing and look where it got them.
I’m going to assume you didn’t listen to the pod because everything you just wrote wrt his development been debunked on there. He’s been given favorable ice time all last season and he hasn’t capitalized. The problem is Shane, no one else. Catton has also been tossed around and shifted to wing yet was developing faster than Wright ever has. At some point you have to stop making excuses for the kid and realize that the problem is the kid.
This narrative about a team screwing up development based on ice time is so tired and not based in reality. Also was debunked by several GMs this offseason including Lambert in their post season pressers
Wright demanded the trade in the spring of last year – I posted it on the fan FB site. The previous year he was the 72nd best player in the league for points per minute played and Seattle was giving him 12 minutes a game.
Last season he was angry, lost confidence, correctly surmised that the team gave up on him, and I suspect he’ll flower in New Jersey where all indications are he’ll end up.
Fans who blame Wright also thunk Beniers is great. They’re wrong on both counts.
A year earlier McTavish was taken No.3 in his draft and after being healthy scratched and having his minutes reduced, the Almighty Ducks decided it was time to move on. I guess Joel Quenneville just doesn’t know how to use players either.
Isn’t player development one of the fixes from the “audit”? It’s a shame we haven’t been able to do something with him. Time will tell who dropped the ball. If he becomes a big success somewhere else, how will this change how we view the management?
Time has already told… it’s Shane. The development progress of the other kids including Cattonn prove that out. Shane demanding a trade also shows you’re dealing with a kid with an ego or attitude problem.
Catton proved that out? Catton put up 17 points last year in 66 games – Wright put up 44 in 79 at a similar age. That was after putting up 47 in 59 in the AHL after playing in only a handful of games the previous season as he bounced between Kraken/CV and a bit in the OHL. I would wager the player dev they flagged as being a problem lands is directly referencing Shane.
Can you blame a kid that believes in himself wanting out of a situation like this. Is that a confidence thing or an ego thing? I am glad he believes he will be way better than he has been. His value is likely at an all time low, so trading him for picks or middling prospects seems like betting on a long shot. If he breaks out this year like lots of other stars have in years 3-4, then we either get way more value for him or he feels better about his situation. If he has another mediocre year, he at least retains the same view that he is a productive 3rd line guy and we get a similar return that we would get right now anyway.
As you have pointed out in other posts, GMs / coaches are not dumb…so do you think anyone would trade what we likely are asking for based on just his pedigree and potential? Or will they all low ball us and point to his actual production? Cant point to our leadership saying they recognize he is a failure and should ship him off while expecting we get a return that actually would help us.
I see you didn’t watch the games. I wasn’t referring to points total but actual player development. If you look at where Catton was every 10 games you saw substantial growth. Shane has been a flat line for two years now. Shane needs to take the reins, put in the work in the offseason and actually apply himself in the faceoff dot and on D. No coach is giving a player defensive draws with a sub 40 faceoff % and that’s against weaker competition than he would face as a 1 or 2C.
Not sure where you were going with all the trade talk. We shouldn’t trade him for anything short of a high upside young player. He’s not likely to get that now so I hope he stops being a spoiled brat, puts in the work, and shows up to camp ready to prove the entire league wrong. My guess is he won’t because he had all of last season to do so and didn’t.
I don’t know how much we can say about Catton’s development one way or the other last season. I liked him as the left wing on the Stephenson line, but the guy got the piss knocked out of him constantly. It is difficult to say what he can and cannot do and how much he improved when he was getting ragdolled all season long. He has the right instincts; I will say that for him. He is also willing to get physical and do the tough jobs, although his ability to do so is lacking. I hope he is in the gym downing a protien shake before his workout right now.
If we keep him, he can improve with Vincent’s help, not Lambert’s because he has no clue. Coaches like Lambert, Berube, and Tortorella need a team ready to compete.
Has anybody heard Lambert talk about Chandler’s defensive game? Ever? Lambert has Stephenson out there farting about the ice when he is one of the worst forwards defensively in the entire NHL. Why is there one standard for Stephenson and another for Wright?
Lambert, it’s time to fix Stephenson’s defensive game. Start there, thank you and much appreciated.
Wright is seen as damaged goods by the league now. Thank you, Botterill and Lambert. (If he wasn’t a good young C would be in high demand, which Wright clearly is not).
Hopefully Vincent can get Wright and other upcoming kids on the right track.
The standard for Stephenson is he gets 41% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone and Wright gets 71%. The standard for Stephenson is he gets 41% of his starts in the offensive zone and Wright gets 80%.
Yeah, you’re right, there is one standard for Stephenson and another for Wright.
I think what he’s saying is that he’s not being used correctly, as seen by our record… nobody ever said LL was a good coach.
Of the 401 forwards who iced 500+ minutes last season, old man Ovechkin had the highest o-zone start percentage at a ridiculous 98.71%. Evgeni Malkin was a distant second at 83.20%. Olympic darling Jack Hughes came in with the bronze at 82.47… nudging out Seattle’s own Berkley Catton at 82.28% in fouth place. Way down at 11th overall was Shane Wright at 80.23%.
Meanwhile… Chandler Stephenson’s 41.51% is 313th… and by the way, his 760 defensive zone faceoffs is 3rd overall.
Again, yeah, there’s a double standard.
Exactly, poor usage.
Yeah, just think how many more goals Shane would have is he was getting the starts Ovi gets.
Just imagine all the goals Shane could have scored by losing faceoffs at a 60%+ rate in the D zone against stronger opponents.
You honestly think CS should be getting second line minutes and be on the first power play? = poor usage.
Let’s dig deeper into this faceoff stat Koist.
“ Just imagine all the goals Shane could have scored by losing faceoffs at a 60%+ rate in the D zone against stronger opponents.”
You know what the difference between wright and CS actually is if Wright took as many draws as CA? It equals out to two more losses per game… not a huge difference honestly.
I’m not saying that those two losses could not be important but the difference isn’t that big. If that’s the reason CS is getting all that ice time we need a better coach.
You continue to find new and interesting ways to shove your foot in your mouth, Nino. You also continue to put words in others mouths to deflect when you’re thoroughly schooled. Before I school you again, let me also correct what I see as a big issue you have. You seem to think anyone that correctly criticizes Shane WANTS Stephenson to be high in the lineup and Shane not have success. That is far from the truth. Everyone wants Shane to be the player we all hoped he would be at the draft. Unfortunately, Shane has not done the things he needs to do to get better.
We’ve already been over this as did the pod but I am happy to school you again. Chandler is taking the majority of defensive zone draws against stronger competitions. He’s been forced to do this EVEN ON HIS OFF SIDE, something Shane hasn’t had to do nearly as much. Shanes 39% would be even worse against the stronger competition Chandler is facing.
In addition, when Shane does lose a faceoff in the O ZONE, the chance of it going back for a goal against is low. This would not be the case if he was doing this in the D ZONE against the stronger competition you want him to be facing. Not only that, he’d be getting LESS chances to score (pts or assists) as his ice time would be more evenly divided between the zones and in fact he’d be more likely to be scored against given he’d be losing draws on D.
He’s god awful at clearing the puck. This has been something we’ve seen repeatedly throughout the years and Lambert smartly decided to avoid having him in situations where it was required. His decision making around the blue line is objectively bad. Shockingly so for someone touted as generational.
I’ll also point this out to you AGAIN, but John has mentioned this many times in the pod and you keep not seeming to hear it. Lambert has set up Shane for success more than any other coach so far. He’s given him the 11th highest percent of offensive zone draws IN THE LEAGUE. He’s done everything he can to reduce his opportunities to fail and give him opportunities to succeed.
You also pulled the conversion from faceoffs lost to wins out of your ass. There is literally no mathematical way to correlate those things. You can’t really be this bad at stats, can you? This might explain why your takes are so bad at least.
You’re welcome for the education.
The stats are correct you just don’t understand them, no surprise.
This is the problem with people who use stats and don’t know how to actually interpret them. Even the eye test will tell you that you’re wrong here.
You have some pretty crazy eyes if they are telling you that we could possibly be a competitive team with CS as our second line center.
This is the problem with people like you. It’s not the lineup no all the players should be playing where they are… it’s not the coaching that’s been stellar. Oh wait it’s all part of the plan to be an irrelevant team, yeah we’re definitely on track.
I can’t wait till the day you learn the game, look back at all the nonsense you’ve been spewing, and actually have to reconcile that.
PS. Allison Lukas has debunked your takes on air last season but I guess she’s not as smart as you.
Trust me I have forgotten more about hockey than you will ever know.
You know I’m right that’s why you would not take on my bet, you’re just a chicken troll. Go around telling everyone that doesn’t agree with your rubbish that they know nothing. It’s actually rather funny.
Your bet was as flawed as your thinking everywhere else. Even if Shane goes and excels elsewhere it doesnt prove anything. You show you lack basic logical reasoning skills time and time again. Correlation is not causation.
It is funny watching you throwing out those childish ad hominems again. Whenever you’ve been proven wrong as you were here and in other threads, you act like a toddler and throw a tantrum.
I’ll wait for your thorough detailed commentary on why Allison Lukan was wrong when she detailed the defensive aspects of Stephenson’s game.
Until then, back to ignoring you. I know you’ll keep replying though. It really is quite to sad to watch how I live in your head rent free.
You’re completely wrong and don’t even realize it. You do understand that last season was his second season in the NHL and that his first season was considered a success.
He looked like he was on track to be a great player in the NHL. He scored 44 points in 73 games during his rookie season. He also has a plus 15 during the last two seasons… not bad for a young NHL player.
Last season was the only season he looked worse… BTW his second season playing for a coach who just wanted him to dump pucks and get off the ice because he wasn’t an old seasoned vet. If he was being handled well and liked how the kraken were developing him he probably wouldn’t be asking for a trade…. Oh but you know better 😂
You know that he’s going to be a good NHL player that’s why you’re afraid to bet. If he’s a failure like you seem to suggest then he’s probably not going to do a lot better next season if he’s traded… no? If he is going to be a great NHL player why the hell would the kraken not want to give him more ice time? Because they are afraid of not making the playoffs, oh wait they didn’t make the playoffs.
I know there are lots of opinions on Shane Wright and Chandler Stephenson’s usage by Lane Lambert. I do think another “stat” worth pointing out is their 5v5 TOI. The difference in Stephenson’s 5v5 TOI/G between the last two seasons is a Blutarsky… 0.0. He was 13:40 under Dan Bylsma and he’s was 13:40 under Lane Lambert… exactly the same. Wright on the other hand has seen his deployment plumet a full six seconds per game from 11:42 to 11:36. The power play, on the other hand, is a bit of a different story. Shane shaved off 19 seconds per game – a significant amount. He also dropped from seven PP goals to two; however, the PP went from 6.59 G/60 to 7.12 G/60… also significant.
Is getting Shane more PP time going to improve his development? I don’t know… and that’s the thing to me. I don’t have the temerity to second guess an NHL coach and organization on their development decisions when not only are they experts, they actually have ALL the information and I have very little. With Shane, it seems like the second guessing is of TWO NHL coaches.
He got about the ice time he should have during his rookie season, should have gotten an increase last season. Why the hell do we have CS on the first unit power play?
I think the comparison and the questioning regarding ice time comes from the fact that there were a lot of questions when CS (a center) was signed and how it would be a mistake with our center depth…. How it would block players development and usage. Guess what it’s kinda happened as was called out when he was signed.
We simply cannot be a good team with him getting second line minutes and with our center depth here and coming we kinda need that third line spot for our up and coming centers. BTW centers don’t always make the best wingers and the are not always the best players on the roster who have godly powers to play anywhere. I mean look at this years draft for example the two best players by a long shot were wingers. The idea that centers can just play anywhere is ridiculous, we drafted these guys because they were centers then signed a blocker in the lineup…. What exactly were we 🤔. If it was a two year contract no big deal at all but it wasn’t.
CS is forcing wright out of the lineup no question. Ask yourself this are we a better team in three years with Wright or CS? Why are we not playing today with focus on the future, present day sucks it’s not like it matters. We’re a bad team hanging on the ankles of dried up vets putting our high level prospects in a position that they want out when our only way out is through high level prospects…. It’s really screwed up and we’re spinning backwards.
“He got about the ice time he should have during his rookie season, should have gotten an increase last season.” Is this from the Development Fairy or is it from the Hogwart’s Manual on Beast Training and Player Development?
Like I’ve said, I don’t know, but the idea that a player should just “get” more ice time seems fantastical. I think they’re supposed to earn it… and Shane Wright is being given the absolute best opportunity to do so… and he hasn’t, as far as I can see.
Like Darren was saying on the pod, I’m sure the Kraken would love to see Chandler Stephenson on the third line doing the job Yanni Gourde was doing at the same age and the same cap percentage… but someone needs to step up to No.2 and Shane ain’t doing it. I know you’re absolutely convinced Stephenson is “blocking” him, but I think Curtis made it pretty clear what Stephenson is blocking him from. He’s taking the bullets so Shane and Berkly have a chance… but whatever.
So you are willing to give up on wright after his second season? All for a coach that has never had and never will have any success in the NHL as a head coach? A coach that’s known for not being great at development? But yeah it’s Wrights fault, better to get rid of him now because clearly he’d only be worth a 4th round pick by the deadline.
This logic makes no sense Daryl you are smarter than this I know you are regardless of what you say. It’s very clear that it’s way too early to be giving up on what could very well be our best prospect in our system. LL is just a place holder and is very unlikely to make it more than another year and a half. The kraken are more willing to give up on a top prospect then get rid of a coach that never should have been hired.
Who’s next that is going to be wanting out of town, this system of culture as LL is so proud of is about as fun to play as it is to watch.
I didn’t say anything about giving up on him.
Your credibility is diminished when you make these outlandish inferences. I do not believe he has demonstrated that more ice time under more challenging circumstances would benefit either him or the team. I also recognize he only has two full seasons in the NHL and has had a difficult path going all the way back to COVID and missing an entire season of development.
I get it that you are fully convinced of the substance of your opinion and I’m happy to engage in these “conversations”, but please don’t try and invent my opinion for me.
I’m not trying to put words in your mouth but there is nothing I’m saying that is wrong. I literally don’t understand how someone who actually has hockey knowledge like yourself would disagree that the kraken are not handling the Wright situation well.
We have made mistakes after mistakes and guess what that’s why the “GM” has been fired. You’d have to be as dense as “who shall not be named” (thought I’d tie into your Harry Potter 😂) to not see what’s going on. I know you see it.
Nino… I’m done.
I’m more than willing to engage in a discussion about ideas and opinions, but when it deteriorates into this – ‘I’m right, you’re wrong… and not only that, you must be dense’. That’s enough.
You can rant and rave all you want and insist the way you see it is the way it is. Personally, I have a hard time engaging with folks who have so little respect for others and I’m certainly not going to humor you in this any longer.
You totally blew it we were at 51 posts it was so prefect until your 52nd.
I’m seriously not trying to offend you, I think you took what I said the wrong way. I’m respectful to everyone and value everyone’s opinions other than one poster who attacks everybody. Disagreeing and debating is not being disrespectful, calling names etc is… just my opinion.
You aren’t respectful of any opposing views. If you can’t go back and read your comments and realize that you’ve been toxic to anyone you disagreed with, there’s really no reason to engage with you. You refuse to process any data presented to you, you assume what people think then make fun of them for it, and you refuse to listen to actual experts (Lukan).
You can not like me all you want, I don’t really care, but this comment to Daryl is toxic af to both him and I.
>> You’d have to be as dense as “who shall not be named” (thought I’d tie into your Harry Potter 😂) to not see what’s going on.
I’m honestly shocked he’s engaged you this long. Daryl replied to this exact comment and you replied saying you’re respectful to everyone.
You then said this
>> Disagreeing and debating is not being disrespectful, calling names etc is… just my opinion.
And all you’ve done is do exactly this to me.
Real talk: You really might want to take a step back and do some soul searching.
I’m only writing this in hopes it actually helps you. It’s not just me you’re now belittling
You are the most call out poster I have ever seen, and literally troll so many people. Yes I’ve targeted you because I’m sick of your S**t.
You have no facts behind anything you say yet you pretend to, it’s absolutely ridiculous.
Btw Alison is paid by the Kraken. She is paid to say what the Kraken want her to say. She is good and I like her post period break down but if you can’t see the difference between a paid kraken employee vs an honest media take you might actually be half brain dead.
BTY I said I’m respectfully to everyone except you because you are a troll. Even though I disagree with posters like Daryl I respect them but I have absolutely zero respect for you.
So that’s a no then… you disrespected Daryl multiple times in just this little chain and you’re too full of yourself to take a step back and admit it (very similar to your Kraken hot takes)
Sorry Daryl, I tried.
Anyway, I’m fully ignoring you now.
Where can I buy the Hogwarts manual?
You have to remember that CS is the boogeyman to the people arguing about Shane’s development and usage. You can dump all the fact you want and they’ll shove their head in the sand or attack you personally for being right. They can’t stick to the facts about Shane because they’ve already decided that the boogeyman is the problem. It can’t possibly be that Shane just isn’t good enough or not working hard enough to grow. I literally gave someone on here a dissertation and invalidated pretty much every talking point they have and their response is effectively “nah”. You’re having a discussion with people who aren’t arguing in good faith. It’s quite sad to see.
Per your question about whether PP time would help him… it doesn’t matter. No coach in the NHL is going to give a player more PP time as a center who can’t win faceoffs and has a terrible shooting percentage. The information is out there.
People also seem to think that acknowledging Wright’s personal issues is somehow advocating for other players or being against Shane. Neither you or I have ever said either of those things, but, again, it points to people arguing in bad faith out of emotion and not coming from a place of rational, critical thought.
It’s funny you bring up attacking people personally, you are the biggest troll on here and constantly attack anyone who doesn’t agree with you. This board would be such a better place without you and your trolling.
Rational thought 😂 there is zero evidence that this is anything more than a player not working with a particular coach. That is all the rational thought that there could possibly be with known information.
I’ve already schooled you in here. Back to your timeout corner
Back to your childish nonsense, looks good on you.
Nice Animal House reference!!
This is almost as entertaining/informative as the article itself. I find myself saying, ‘he’s right, No, he’s right, Damnit now I’m not sure.’ Thanks to all of you. If nothing else it brightens our hockey less days until September. Go Kraken!!
Good grief. You guys are making the Kraken even more exhausting to like.
Yeah, all this back and forth opinions and Debbie Downers attitude some have is exhausting.
Many of us are loyal supporters of our team despite some questionable decisions here and there. Looking forward to the upcoming season no matter what…
Go Kraken!!!
Here, here!
I think there’s still a decent chance the Kraken have a significant transaction coming.
Go Kraken!!!
I’m hoping for something but I also know there aren’t many options out there. Regardless can’t wait for preseason.
Well get the schedule soon so that’s something.
Good article Darren. Thanks for sharing.
Move him to Philly for Tippet and move on from this noise
has everyone calmed down?
my real hope here is if he isnt part of a haul for a real impact player (NOT EP40 FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) that he stays, EARNS a better deployment and ends up staying. i think shane has a 70+ point player buried in him and i dont think lane lambert is the reason he isnt. the reason is he disappears for shifts/games at a time (sometimes a week at a time) and then he will suddenly engage, knock off an ok point streak and then another streak of forgettable hockey. you can see it in his body language when he isnt sure of himself. it doesnt take much reading through the comments that we ALL want him to be the 2C over chandler and im sure the organization does too but he has got to be consistent and he has to get better in the dot. if he stops behaving like hes fragile(mentally) he may get more d zone deployments. he suffers from a problem the entire team (sans the 4th line and bobby mccann) has which he doesnt shoot the puck enough. all that said, his battle level and defensive play got noticeably better in the back half of the season. again, if the team doesnt move him im really hoping he hits 30 goals this year and gets bumped up and decides to stay.
Yeah my biggest hope is he sees a sports Psychologist and figures it out. He has all the skills but needs to put them all together into a consistent performance. Everyone wants him to succeed and has a vested interest in making it happen.
i figure hes got to have one already. theres got to be a big mental disconnect when youve spent your formative years being told youre going to be the guy and then you hit a series of bumps that derail you a bit. im not saying he isnt a hard worker, but its probably jarring. like… a narrative youve sworn was true since childhood being ripped away like the easter bunny isnt real lol. but seriously i wonder if “it wasnt supposed to be like this” is the prevailing thought. regardless as he matures i expect that to go away as the vets show him what needs to happen to go further in the league. especially guys that werent expected to get the bag they got like bobby mcmann, that guy is hard work to a T and hes only in the league because of drive and persistence. if shane can leach some of that “i wont be denied” energy off of him it could be a boon. actually, if our entire forward group sans mccann could get a little of that that would probably start making the goals for column jump a little bit.
That relentless drive to succeed is what I am going to miss most about Jaden Schwartz. He’s a real one.
i was thinking about him as i was typing the “wont be denied” energy. he had it, he worked his ass off every shift. ill miss him but at the same time it was time for him to move and make room for the younger guys. samoskevich i think will slot into his role alright.
We have to give Schwartz a proper welcome when he comes back with Colorado. Maybe cheer him whenever he gets the puck as a counterpoint to booing Cale Makar. Not when he scores a goal, though. That would be a kind of wrong.
Yeah I agree on everything there but I wonder if the comments about a quiet locker room aren’t helping him here. We also haven’t had any other prospects really push him for a roster spot and motivate him that way. Regardless, I hope he pulls it together for us more than anything.
i think catton is applying pressure. even though he struggled you can see him working it out and he had some of the best o zone entries they had the past season. im not 100 that he doesnt cook in coachella at some point this year but that has more to do with his size and weight than anything else, we will see at camp. im quite sure he added some size this offseason. the flashes of what he can be were there quick though. shane just seems gunshy a lot of the time, or unsure. if all he did was forecheck, backcheck and fire the puck when it ended up on his stick hed be in the mix and getting the numbers we all want. if we rolled 4 lines at close to even usage id say put him on the 4th with melly and wints (havent seen douglas play much, i know hes a bottom sixer but i dont know if he skates hard) and make his only directive to just keep the pedal to the metal every shift. i know those arent the performers he should be with but thats the mentality he needs right now. be a bulldozer and not a surgeon. he has size, skill and speed and could benefit from just going full tilt
Now Wrath has a good idea in hockey terms, but even if it were only a temporary arrangement, would anyone sign off on it? Wright wants second line minutes, not fourth line minutes. Botterill wants a top-six star not a bottom-six warrior. Lambert might be tempted considering he could not stop talking about how much better Wright got on defense over the season, but I worry that, even as the coach, he would be overruled by both player and General Manager. God, Wright would thrive in that role, though. He is a big dude, and he plays physical. He also pairs really well with Ryan Winterton. No way would Wright go for it. He is looking to get seriously paid after this season, and he is not getting paid the big money unless his stats sheet is covered in points. To folks wondering why Wright’s agent would make the play that he did, his upcoming RFA contract is why. Whether here or elsewhere, for his own financial security he absolutely needs to project as a future top-line center this upcoming season and no later. The clock is ticking.
Maybe his agent should be advising him to put a ton of work in over the summer instead of coddling his client. Wright needs to fix his own game before any coach is going to give him what he wants.
@want it need it:
in that scenario (shane gets more usage) who has the right motor to pair him with? who is going to push his pace McMann or McCann and? Ebs is probably staying with Matty although maybe they drop him down and give RW to Samoskevich or Kakko. Maybe Eberle is the answer for wright, i cant recall ever seeing them paired together 5 on 5. the only issue there is i dont know any combination of Ebs/McCann/McMann has the right look. jesus we need a strong right winger. maybe we should empty the clip for Tippett or Marchenko without dealing Wright.
for giggles sending our Wright, Douglas and Melanson to just run over people would be hilarious though. Douglas is going to be sitting in the box a lot this year. unrelated: i hope Catton gets his stick under control this season, the amount of high sticking calls he was getting hit with were getting obnoxious.
it just really sucks. i really want shane to shine but it always feels like its up to shane to me when i watch him. i read some article where someone said shane views himself as an “alpha” (im not going to get into what that alpha wolf study actually meant or what the researcher said about it after the fact), like…. yeah, in the OHL. when you join a new pack you become low man again, you gotta earn your rank and he hasnt earned it yet. again, having a “wont be denied” mentality is a relentless pursuit of results, i dare anyone to show me even a 20 game stretch, hell a 10 game stretch where shane was working that hard. i wont stop giving him credit for his late season performance on the the non statsheet stuff but to be the guy you need to be the guy. i hope shane stays and discovers being that guy.
@wrath Let’s see, on the right side the team has Samoskevich, Eberle, Winterton, Melanson, and now Douglas. They also have Jagger Firkus and Jani Nyman champing at the bit. I will assume that Kakko is going to move back to his natural position on the left now that Schwartz and Tolvannen are gone (I still can’t believe someone hasn’t paid Tolvannen). If I remember correctly, Wright played with Eberle back when Hakstol was coach. Last season, it looked like Eberle was playing too well with Beniers to bump him down the lineup; I think Ebs had his most productive offensive season in eight years or something like that. I can’t imagine Lambert wanting to break that up, especially in light of the quantum leap that Beniers took, but Eberle is getting long in the tooth and may slide down the lineup if Samoskevich pans out or if Winterton takes another step forward. If that happens, then it would make sense to slot him in next to Wright. Winterton and Wright have worked well together before in Coachella Valley, and Winterton is strong enough. On the other hand, he is still unproven and has not been a consistent scorer.
As for Wright’s left side, I do not know how well he and McCann get on. McCann is absolutely high-motor and has a hatred of losing that few can match. I wonder how much patience an arch competitor like him can have with Wright, especialy after hearing his exit interview. He has looked much better with the similarly driven Beniers than he did when playing with Wright. That is bad, because he would seem to compliment Wright’s playstyle to a tee. Maybe Bobby McMann would be a better linemate for Wright, but, again, he looked really good with Beniers. There is only one Matty, so one of the Irishmen will have to play on a different line. Kakko would seem to fit with Wright idealistically, but they did not do much when paired together last season. I would greatly prefer to see Catton on Stephenson’s wing where he had most of his success last season; if there is someone who warrants development right now, he’s Berkley Catton. Maybe if Eberle were on the line with Wright and Catton the pairing would be alright. Maybe.
When writing about line juggling, I noticed something that hardly gets mentioned, namely that everyone who plays on a line with Matty Beniers suddenly looks way better than they did on other lines. Has anyone else noticed? 2022-23 Jared McCann pots forty goals in a season largely playing beside Beniers. 2024-25 Kaapo Kakko comes here and thrives on the Beniers line before disappearing on the Wright line. 2025-26 Jordan Eberle has a late-career resurgance when he takes over the top right wing job. 2026 Bobby McMann goes off when he is brought over from Toronto and is placed on Beniers’ left. It happens every season apart from that sophmore slump year. Whoever plays with Beniers blooms. Maybe there is a bit of the reverse going on as well: guys who are playing well get moved up to the Beniers line. I do not know enough to draw any conclusions, but I am intrigued to see which winger is going to have the next break-out year playing next to Matty.
I wonder if Matty being so reliable defensively plays a factor into it. Does that level of defense allow his linemates to cheat a bit more knowing he is gonna cover for them pretty well? He isn’t racking up assists that would indicate he is driving their production by creating opportunities for them. I think he doesnt get the respect he deserves yet. While he wont become a point a game player you want in an elite 1C, I do think he will continue to grow into a solid 60pt going forward who gets in the Selke conversation.
this is a really interesting take and something i have also wondered. people like to bury the lead on beniers because he isnt putting up 70 points (literally read bust about him almost as much as i do about wright in the facebook comments) but all you have to do is watch him play. he looked faster last year, his fore and back checking were aggressive and his 2 shootout goals were just filthy nasty.
to your point, thinking about it it feels right. people just seem to be better when playing with matty. that said, jam one of mcmann/mccann on the left and put shane on the right. that open up 3C for either Catton or Gaudreau (yes stephenson should be 3C but i dont think catton is ready for 2C)
i am quite sure shane doesnt want to play wing, and when he has he has looked disinterested/disengaged but snagging first line minutes with 2 other high motor players who can shoot the lights out could be the shane wright solution. makes us weaker up the middle (i guess? shanes draw % wont be missed) but affords everyone a handful of opportunities.
Shane Wright’s request to leave was an inevitable result of their mismatched visions: Seattle wanted to build a foundation slowly, while Wright needed an environment that would allow him the freedom to create and score goals. It’s exactly like playing run 3. When your character is accelerating and suddenly hits a gray wall or a series of bumps in the tunnel, the only way to avoid being kicked out of the game is to… rotate and jump onto a completely new wall.