Shane Wright still does not have a trade, but the Seattle Kraken just got a lot busier at camp.
The team signed defenseman Gustav Olofsson and centers Ian McKinnon and Mitchell Stephens to professional tryouts this week.
Seattle also hired Dolan Gilbert as its emergency backup goaltender, the kind of housekeeping move every team handles before puck drop.
None of these names carry the weight Wright's situation does, but the timing says something about where Seattle's head is right now.
-
Wright's agent said Friday that his client is fully committed to the Kraken, even after his requested trade never materialized this summer.
That commitment now gets tested in real camp battles, competing for reps against players signed on tryouts with something to prove.
A PTO deal carries real stakes for the player. No contract, no guarantee, just an invitation to earn a job in a couple of weeks.
Why these depth moves matter more with Wright's future unresolved
Seattle finished last season needing exactly this kind of camp competition, bodies who can push for bottom-six or seventh-defenseman jobs.
Olofsson brings NHL experience on the back end, while McKinnon and Stephens add center depth at a position already crowded by Wright's own situation.
That's the layer that makes this interesting. If Seattle keeps Wright, these tryouts compete for whatever's left on the roster.
If Seattle finally moves him before the season starts, suddenly one of these tryout invites has a real path to opening night minutes.
GM Jason Botterill has been quiet on Wright's trade market specifically, but roster churn like this rarely happens by accident in September.
Every PTO signing is also a subtle signal. Seattle wasn't satisfied with its camp numbers as currently constructed.
An EBUG hire is mostly procedural, but even that detail says the front office is buttoning up loose ends before the season opens.
Wright, at 22, is still hoping to find his game again after a 27-point season that fell well short of his draft pedigree.
Camp opens soon, and how these tryouts perform could end up shaping the roster just as much as whatever happens with Wright himself.
Should the Kraken use these PTO tryouts to push Shane Wright out of the lineup entirely?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Elliotte Friedman appears to have made his decision: A statement has been issued regarding Amazon Prime's odds
