Wright traded to Predators by Kraken, was No. 4 pick in 2022 NHL Draft

Shane Wright was traded to the Nashville Predators by the Seattle Kraken for Matthew Wood on Sunday.

Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has four points (three goals, one assist) in 14 games this season. The center played 167 games with the Kraken since the start of 2024-25 after playing the majority of the previous season with Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League. 

"I was surprised, but I was excited as well," Wright said Monday. "Really unbelievable city and organization. I'm excited to be here.

"I think, for me, I always wanted a little more opportunity. I wanted to have more minutes. I wanted to play a bigger role, whether that was in Seattle or somewhere else. I was happy to do that, but I'm moving on from the situation and happy to be here. I'm still young, so I want to hopefully be here for a number of years, build something special here and be part of a winning culture and a winning group."

The 22-year-old has 82 points (39 goals, 43 assists) in 183 NHL games. Wright had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 24 AHL playoff games in 2023, helping Coachella Valley reach the Calder Cup Finals before losing to Hershey.

"For us, we just felt it made sense for quite a few reasons," Predators general manager Chris MacFarland said. "We're excited to add Shane. We feel he's a natural fit in the middle of the ice. We feel we've got a great opportunity for him to improve day by day. He'll be a better player in the spring than he is now, and he'll be a better player next fall than he is now. We hope the same for Matthew. This is one that you hope works out for both teams."

The Predators (5-4-5) host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; HHN, CARNHL, SCRIPPS, SN+).

"We'll see where he fits here, but we'll try to put him at center,"  Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "Hopefully he can bring a lot of pace for our group through the middle of the ice. I'm hoping he can be a top-six forward that brings a lot of pace through the middle of the ice. I still believe he's a young player that probably needs a little more confidence and a little bit more belief for him to take that next step. Hopefully we can get him to take that next step here."

Wood had three points (one goal, two assists) in 14 games for the Predators this season. The 21-year-old forward was a first-round pick (No. 15) by Nashville at the 2023 NHL Draft and has 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 91 games.

“There's still room to add more strength to his body and to his frame,” Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said. “But I think he utilizes his reach very well to protect pucks. And more importantly, to get a shot off. And we think his hockey sense and his shot are two of the best attributes that he can bring to our team.”

The Kraken (8-5-1) host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; Prime Video, KONG, SNW).

NHL.com independent correspondent Russell Vannozzi contributed to this report