The Vancouver Canucks have shown real interest in Shane Wright, and according to insider Rick Dhaliwal, they've already made contact with Seattle.
Dhaliwal reported Thursday night on Oilers Now that Vancouver approached the Kraken about the 22-year-old center. The ask back, he says, was very high.
That's the part that should worry Canucks fans. Seattle isn't just listening. They're setting the terms.
Wright is having a quieter year than his draft pedigree suggests. He's posted 27 points in 74 games this season, with 12 goals and 15 assists.
He's a plus-6 skater with two power-play goals and two game-winners, useful two-way numbers for a young center still finding his level in Seattle's middle six.
But the recent stretch is rough. Over his last 10 games, Wright has just 3 points and sits at minus-1, a cold patch that lines up with a Kraken team stuck in an eight-game skid over that same stretch.
Seattle sits at 34-37-11 with a goal differential of minus-37 and has dropped its last three straight. That's not exactly a team negotiating from strength, yet the price tag says otherwise.
Kraken want Buium or Willander before any Wright deal happens
Per Dhaliwal, Seattle's demand is specific. They want either Buium or Willander coming back in the deal, not just a bundle of picks or futures.
-
That's a name-your-price approach from a team with a losing record. Bold, considering Seattle isn't exactly stacked with playoff hockey right now.
Vancouver's situation adds pressure to get this right. The Canucks are 25-49-8, with a goal differential sitting at minus-100, easily the ugliest number in this entire conversation.
New head coach Manny Malhotra, hired back on June 1st, inherits a roster that finished with a minus-100 differential and a five-game funk to close things out.
Adding a center like Wright would give Malhotra another piece in the middle of the ice. But surrendering a top prospect to get him is a real gamble for a franchise already rebuilding.
Handing over Buium or Willander for a 22-year-old with 27 points feels like paying retail for a discount item. Vancouver needs difference-makers, not reclamation projects.
Dhaliwal's report doesn't suggest a deal is close. It suggests two sides testing where the other one bends first.
Whether the Canucks blink on price, or Seattle softens its ask, is the question that decides if Shane Wright ever pulls on a Vancouver sweater.
Should the Canucks give up Willander or Buium to land Shane Wright?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
The Maple Leafs just signed seven players and their plan is becoming clear
