Nashville PredatorsThe Kraken traded Shane Wright to Nashville on Sunday for Matthew Wood. Wright was the fourth pick in 2022 and is 22. Wood was the 15th pick in 2023 and is 21. Nashville general manager Chris MacFarland said the Predators were "excited to add Shane."
On the surface it is a swap of two young forwards who have not broken through. Underneath it, Seattle has a five-on-five problem that this trade does not touch, and a penalty kill that is the worst in the league.
What did Seattle give up?
A centre who was better last season than this one. Wright had 12 goals and 27 points last season with 53 per cent of the five-on-five expected goals. This season he has three goals and an assist in 14 games and is at 47 per cent. His line with Berkly Catton and Kaapo Kakko was at 51 per cent and had outscored opponents 8-6, which made it one of the few Seattle lines winning its minutes.
He is also cheap for now. Wright is on an entry-level deal worth $886,667 a season and becomes a restricted free agent next summer.
What did Seattle get?
A winger with the same share and a harder season behind him. Wood has a goal and two assists this season and is at 47 per cent. Last season he scored 17 goals and 30 points in Nashville, also at 47 per cent.
| Shane Wright | Matthew Wood | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, draft | 22, 4th overall 2022 | 21, 15th overall 2023 |
| 2025-26 goals and points | 12 and 27 | 17 and 30 |
| 2025-26 five-on-five expected goals share | 53% | 47% |
| 2026-27 goals, assists | 3, 1 | 1, 2 |
| 2026-27 five-on-five expected goals share | 47% | 47% |
Wood scored more last season. Wright drove more of the play. Seattle chose the scoring, and gave up the centre to do it.
Is the rest of Seattle any better?
Not at five-on-five. Seattle is 8-5-1, and in October we wrote that the 5-2 start deserved a closer look at who it had beaten. The closer look has not improved. Seattle has 45 per cent of the five-on-five expected goals, 27th in the league, and is winning because it has scored 11.7 more goals than its chances were worth, second-most in the NHL. Philipp Grubauer has a .929 save percentage at five-on-five.
The heaviest minutes are the problem. Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson have played 208 minutes together and have 38 per cent of the expected goals. The line of Bobby McMann, Chandler Stephenson and Jordan Eberle is at 37 per cent. Neither group involves Wright or Wood, and both are being out-chanced badly.
And the penalty kill?
The worst in the league. Seattle has allowed 13 power-play goals and gives up 15.59 goals per 60 minutes shorthanded, 32nd of 32 teams. A team that is out-chanced at five-on-five and leaks goals on the kill is relying on its shooters and its goaltender to cover both, and that has worked for 14 games.
The case for patience, stated fairly
The argument for the trade is that Wright's development had stalled, that a change of scene can help both players, and that Wood's 17 goals last season are the kind of scoring a team near the bottom of the league in chances needs. Seattle has Catton and Matty Beniers down the middle, so it can afford to move a centre, and Wood is a year younger.
The other side is that Seattle gave up the better five-on-five player of the two and did nothing about the pairs and the penalty kill that are costing it the most. The finishing that has carried the record will not stay at second in the league.
Our view is that this is a fair hockey trade that solves nothing. Seattle's next move should be a defenceman who can take minutes from the Dunn and Larsson pair, and a fix to a penalty kill that is allowing more than any other.
What to watch
Calgary visits on Wednesday. Watch where Wood lines up, who takes Wright's spot between Catton and Kakko, and whether the penalty kill can get through a game clean. In Nashville, watch whether Wright plays centre. Our last look at the Predators was how their stars stopped covering for everyone else. Every Kraken number is on the team stats page, and the Pacific race is on the standings.