On Wednesday morning, Shane Wright is still a member of the Seattle Kraken. But he has been out of the lineup for six of the 11 games the team has played so far this season. He also has averaged just 6:51 TOI, way below even a fourth line forward’s average minutes and on Tuesday night, he was once again a healthy scratch against the Calgary Flames.
We can only imagine how much pressure Wright is putting on himself, he who has just earned one assist in five games he has played, and the 34 minutes and 13 seconds he’s been on NHL ice.
There have been recent rumours that teams were disappointed that Wright didn’t play in Europe during the OHL’s full stop during the pandemic, which explains why he landed fourth overall, and now, if he remains in the NHL, Wright could be back to doing very little on the side lines.
This prompted Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek not only to suggest that Wright should be sent back to the OHL, but on top of that, he be involved in a trade once he comes back down to junior. Marek points to his Kingston Frontenacs who are bidding to become hosts to the Memorial Cup in 2024. However, Kingston could use Wright as tremendous trade bait to put together a trade that would bring in many pieces.
“Part of the strategy would be to trade him for pieces bolstering next season’s team in conjunction with that plan.”
Marek and his colleague Elliotte Friedman are adamant that going back to the OHL, and even getting traded in the process, would not be a setback for Wright. This is how Friedman puts it in his latest 32 Thoughts column:
“There is a path for the Kraken and the OHL to be proactive about this. Get Wright moved to a team that wants to win this season, somewhere he will play big minutes in big games. The Ontario league wins, too. Wright would be a big draw. Marek would drag his family around like the Clampetts in a massive station wagon. (One hitch: No player selected in the first round last season can be traded until Jan. 1. My suggestion would be, if the player agrees to it, make the deal.) Get Wright on the ice and reap the rewards. Now, and for many years to come in the Pacific Northwest.”
Wright cannot not play for another season. He needs to keep developing and clearly he will do so in the OHL, whatever team he plays for, way better than if he stays in the NHL, in Seattle.
