Per the official Kraken press release: “Seattle Kraken General Manager Jason Botterill announced that the team has acquired forward Matthew Wood from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shane Wright.”
The news came down Sunday afternoon. We predicted Wright would be moved by Christmas, the Kraken didn’t wait to pull the trigger to give him a change of scenery and to clean up the team chemistry.
Wood is a large, 6’4″, 205-pound right wing who probably still has a little bit of growing and strengthening to do at age 21. He was the Predators 15-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft after playing college hockey at U-Conn and the University of Minnesota.
The 2nd-year fulltime NHL’er hails from just up the road in Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island. He also played six games at the end of the 2024-’25 season after his college career wrapped up in the spring.
“Matthew is a young forward who adds size and an elite shot to our group,” Botterill said in his statement. “He’s a skilled player, with hockey sense, who demonstrated his offensive potential last season as a rookie in the National Hockey League. We’re thrilled to welcome Matthew to Seattle and excited to see his impact on our team. We thank Shane for his contributions to our organization and the city of Seattle, and we wish him all the best in Nashville.”
Wood tallied 17 goals and 13 assists over 71 games last season. He’s off to a slower start this year with just one goal and two assists in 14 games.
Wright finishes up his Kraken career with 39 goals and 43 assists in 183 games after being selected fourth overall at the 2022 NHL Draft.
The player requested a trade last spring and possible destinations had been rumored for weeks and months.
The two will try to impact the wild card race in the Western Conference with their new clubs, potentially inflicting a bit of damage to their former employers. The race should be tight.
It won’t take long for the respective homecomings. The Predators and Kraken have a home-and-home set scheduled for mid-December.
Earlier Kraken:
— Simmer’s Sunday 9; Kraken, Canucks, USA Hockey, IIHF, Trade Talk
