We’re not even halfway through July, and the rumours regarding Shane Wright and the Vancouver Canucks continue to percolate. At this point, some readers are no doubt sick of the headlines, and especially sick of the lazy puns – and, you know what, they’re well within their Wrights to feel that way.

That necessary business aside, the hotstove has heated up a little bit on this front this week, and we thought that warranted some additional coverage. Specifically, we got a report this week from Ben Kuzma that “Vancouver is Wright’s preferred destination because of what the club could become in a few years.”

Now, the quote itself can be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, as Max Rockatansky once famously said, “That’s bait.” As a 22-year-old still in the final year of his entry-level contract, Wright has absolutely no trade protection and no real say in his next destination. His preferring Vancouver as a destination may be true, but it’s mostly irrelevant to where he eventually ends up. And that last bit about “what the club could become in a few years”? That seems like pure red meat to ensure the report got shared plenty in both the Vancouver and Seattle markets.

Either way, there’s probably enough smoke here to take another look at what might be cooking. When last we met on this topic, this same author told you, in headline format, “The Canucks should probably avoid pursuing Shane Wright unless he comes unexpectedly cheap.”

That remains true, but it raises the question of what “unexpectedly cheap” might mean. Or, in other words, what an actual reasonable, workable return for Wright might be for the Canucks, while still being within the realm of acceptable for the Kraken?

We’ll take it piece-by-piece.

We can start with what we said in the last article: that the most sense seems to be some sort of Jonathan Lekkerimäki swap. The two were drafted just 11 spots apart in the 2022 Entry Draft (at fourth and fifteenth). That difference, plus the handful of good showings Wright has already had at the NHL level, gives him inherently more value, but it might be closer than most think. Lekkerimäki does have those eye-popping AHL goal totals behind him, and has at times been ranked as a top-25 prospect in the NHL, though not super recently.

The Kraken are, and always have been, an offence-starved team. They could really use a sniper, and Lekkerimäki still projects to potentially be one of those. There’s also the Patrik Allvin connection, with the former GM having made Lekkerimäki his first selection with the Canucks long before moving on to the Kraken as an AGM.

If the Kraken really like Lekkerimäki, the Canucks might not need to add too terribly much on top to make the swap happen. But that’s a matter of pro scouting, in the end.

There aren’t really many established pieces on the Canucks end that would make much sense. Their most readily available trade chip is Jake DeBrusk, and we did mention the Kraken’s need for offence, but DeBrusk doesn’t move the needle too much for them or give them much of anything they don’t already have. Again, if they have a real interest here, something might be worked out, and in that case, the value between DeBrusk and Wright is probably a little closer. They have had a tough time attracting UFAs, and DeBrusk does come with a long-term contract in hand. But Seattle would have to outright like the fit, and that seems unlikely with their wings already stuffed with “middle-six” talent.

That same glut of wingers probably precludes any major interest in the likes of Drew O’Connor or Linus Karlsson.

Most of the truly interesting pieces on Vancouver’s behalf should be safely locked behind the “not up for negotiation” barrier. We’re talking anyone of any value who is younger than Wright at 22, and that includes Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, Braeden Cootes, and anyone drafted in this past draft. We can probably also include fellow 22-year-olds Elias Pettersson and Liam Öhgren on this list, too. A Wright-for-Öhgren swap might reasonably interest the Kraken, and perhaps more than a Lekkerimäki deal, but given how well Öhgren seemed to fit in with the Canucks last year, they should probably hang on to him for now.

One name that really intrigues here is that of Marco Rossi. We mentioned him in the last article as someone whose presence made Wright a little redundant in Vancouver. Rossi is a couple of years older than Wright and has already shown a lot more at the NHL level; both probably top out as top-six centres in the long run. Personally, we would call Rossi the better bet to have long-term success at this point in time.

But if the Vancouver front office really believes in Wright’s untapped potential and if they like his younger age as a better fit with the rebuild, well, then, maybe there is something to be had here. A Wright-for-Rossi trade seems ideal for the Kraken, who still need production from their top six, especially from down the middle. Trading out Wright for a more sure-thing is perfect for a non-rebuilding, attempting-to-return-to-the-playoffs franchise like Seattle.

In fact, such a trade might have the value tipped in Rossi’s favour here, requiring some sort of sweetener from the Kraken to even it out.

But, as we said, this would require a lot of belief in Wright from the Canucks. If that’s not the case, the odds suggest they’re better off sticking with Rossi.

Beyond those pieces we’ve already discussed, it should be noted that the Kraken are the newest franchise in the NHL and, as a natural consequence, are still rather asset-poor. This is especially true in terms of prospects and picks, which is something the Canucks have begun to accumulate.

None of the Canucks’ top prospects should be on the table here. But some from the lesser tiers could be of interest to Seattle, and maybe some sort of package can be cobbled together. We’re talking prospects as good as Kirill Kudryavtsev or Victor Mancini at best, but preferably from even further within the cupboard, like Sawyer Mynio or Riley Patterson.

The Canucks’ first-round picks in any year should not be available either. But they do have five second-rounders and four third-rounders spread out over the next three drafts. The Canucks could definitely offer a “quantity over quality” package of a couple of prospects and picks and see if that’s of any interest. If any team is going to bite on that, it’s the Kraken, but it mostly feels like wishful thinking.

If we were to outline the possible scenarios here, in ascending order of likeliness and sense-making, we’d probably put that one as least likely, and break it down like this:

And if none of those get the job done, we arrive at our most likely outcome: “outbid by another team.” As we said at the outset, Wright has no real say in where he gets traded, and even though the Kraken are reportedly “working with him” to find a new destination, they’ve got no real incentive to shortchange themselves on a return that suits his desires.

In the end, Wright will almost certainly go to the team that offers him the most. And with that draft history and the intrigue of untapped potential, one has to imagine at least one of the other 30 NHL franchises might be convinced to offer something the Canucks won’t, like a first-round pick or a truly high-quality prospect.

In which case, the Canucks can confidently exit negotiations and stick with what they’re already working with. It’s either one of the possibilities we outlined above, or it’s an all-left situation – no Wrights.