No NHL general manager has been busier than Chris MacFarland.
In less than five months since the former Colorado Avalanche executive took over as Nashville Predators GM, he’s executed a league-high 11 trades.
None of them were more noteworthy than the deal he made for Shane Wright.
MacFarland shipped 2023 first-round pick Matthew Wood to the Seattle Kraken, straight up for Wright on Sunday.
Yep, the trade was one-for-one.
On Monday, Wright was already on the ice in Nashville, repping his Predators gear.
He was all smiles, and why shouldn’t he be after Seattle finally fulfilled his trade request.
Not only that, but he centered Nashville’s second line at practice alongside Predators’ leading scorer, Filip Forsberg. Nils Hoglander, another recent addition to Nashville, skated on right wing.
What MacFarland said
Expectations for Wright have plummeted ever since he was drafted fourth overall by the Kraken in 2022. He was expected to be the first overall pick for most of the season, before falling to fourth.
In Seattle, Wright never hit his stride as a potential top-line player. Heck, he couldn’t even crack Seattle’s top-six. However, there’s an argument that the Kraken never put him in the best positions to succeed.
So, can things be different in Nashville?
MacFarland certainly thinks so.
“I told him last night, your game is good,” MacFarland told the media in Nashville. “You don’t need to have the weight of the world on you. You’re not the fourth overall pick anymore. That was years ago.”
“What you are is a good hockey player, and you still have growth in your game. And we want you to come in here and feel a part of it and what we’re trying to build, and hopefully you’re in the middle of that as we get this off the ground.”
Wright is joining a Predators team in transition. While that means there’s going to be opportunity, MacFarland made it clear that nothing will be gifted to the 22-year-old.
“It’s a great opportunity. But again, we’re back to that same question: to have the role that any young player wants, you’re going to have to earn it, and you earn it by gathering trust day by day.”
“We know [Wright] is a good NHL player, and it’s going to be our job, collectively, from the coaches to our development department to our strength department, to help him maximize the God-given hockey abilities that he has and put him into good spots and see if we can get it out of him. But we’re excited to give him that chance.”
Wright’s first test with Predators
Wright had a career-high of 19 goals and 44 points for the Kraken during his first full NHL season back in 2024-25. But he faltered under coach Lane Lambert, regularly playing bottom-six minutes alongside depth players like Ryan Winteron and Jani Nyman.
Going from that to playing with Forsberg is a pretty nice step up.
Wright will face a stiff test in his first game for the Predators, facing off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Things don’t get much easier after that, as Wright and the Predators will battle the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Predators GM sends blunt message to Shane Wright after blockbuster trade