The Boston Bruins added some flash to their top-six during the draft when they traded their first-round pick for JJ Peterka. While adding more skill in that area was a massive need for the Bruins this offseason, it wasn't the top-six center that most fans wanted to see, and Don Sweeney is rumored to still be looking to add in that area. With the Seattle Kraken shopping Shane Wright, it seems like a natural fit.
Everything about Wright is the kind of move that the Bruins need to make to try to keep up with the Atlantic Division. All of their moves are being made with the early-20s age group in mind to help supplement their aging core and set them up when David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are no longer in their prime, and Wright would be another player to add to that group.
The Sheet (July 3): Boston has definitely been active in the market. They were in on Maverick Bourque before getting JJ Peterka.
— NHL Trade Alert (@NHLTradeAlert) July 4, 2026
Pagnotta says they are looking for another Top 6 forward and that a centre would be ideal. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/o2pb4ka9oo
The problem is that Wright has been a red flag ever since he dropped to fourth in the draft and stared down the Montreal Canadiens' draft table for not taking him first overall. While some pundits liked the fire he showed by doing it, the glare also showed a bit of fragility for a player who was the consensus number one but had plenty of flaws that teams could've picked up on.
Those flaws came to the forefront when he tried to take the next step. The season after his draft year was one of the most chaotic in recent memory, as he started the year in the NHL, played some AHL games, represented Canada at the World Juniors, and was traded to a new OHL team over the holiday break before going back there to finish his junior career. There would've been some leeway if his development had been stunted a bit with that mess of a year.
However, he spent the next season looking like a serviceable pro with a great season in Coachella Valley, and then followed that up with 44 points in his rookie season with the Kraken. Big things seemed to be ahead heading into the 2025-26 season, but he responded with 27 points in 74 games.
The upside of Shane Wright with the Bruins
The Kraken have been a mess, and the offensive talent in the Pacific Northwest has been even worse than what has been going on in Boston's top six. If Wright came to the Bruins to play the middle between Pastrnak and Peterka, it would be a significant upgrade from his place between some of Seattle's below-average middle-six wingers.
Wright's underlying numbers are off the charts, which makes it almost impossible that he had only 27 points last season. That is far from his ceiling, but by all accounts, it's going to take a haul to pry him out of Seattle. The Bruins just traded a bunch of future assets for Peterka, which was risky in its own right, and trading a bunch more for Wright would be hitching their wagon to the two of them for this age bracket of their core.
How do Bruins fans feel about a future of Wright, Peterka, James Hagens, Dean Letourneau, and Fraser Minten, and more importantly, how do players like Pastrnak and McAvoy feel about it, and is it enough to get them to stay through their 30s?
If Sweeney and the staff truly believe that Wright has the capabilities to pay off his top prospect status in the 2022 draft, then it's a no-brainer to buy low on him this offseason, but if this is another swing to try to luck into a top-six center, they might want to aim for something more certain. Of course, they might've already missed that more certain entity by failing to acquire Mason McTavish, and Wright is likely the next best available who fits what they're looking for.
One good thing for the Bruins is that with their rivalry with the Canadiens reigniting, they already know Wright has a built-in hatred for the organization.
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