The Philadelphia Flyers are going to be right in the middle of basically every single trade rumor about a good defenseman and a young, good center. It’s bound to happen. It’s two major holes that this team needs to fill whether it is one of their prospects developing into something like that in a few years, or going out and getting something in a trade.
And, well, it certainly looks like they’re going to be trying to get a young center as soon as next week.
According to a recent report, the Flyers are calling the Seattle Kraken about young centerman Shane Wright, as both teams really begin to get into the most active part of the offseason.
“Young centre Shane Wright is still available and remains open to a move. [Kraken GM Jason] Botterill prefers to package him in a larger deal for a top-tier forward and he continues to scour the market. Teams continue to poke, and sources say the Philadelphia Flyers recently entered the chat, and trade discussions should pick up this week,” David Pagnotta write Sunday afternoon.
Wright is a 22-year-old center who was drafted fourth overall by the Kraken in 2022, as he was once projected to be the very first pick in that draft after being granted Exceptional Status in the OHL and being praised for his two-way and mature game at such a young age. But now, he hasn’t really reached that potential.
The Burlington, Ont. native scored a career-high 19 goals and 44 points in 79 games in the 2024-25 season, and just last year saw his production decrease with just 12 goals and 27 points while his role on the team didn’t change that much — he just wasn’t shooting 20.9 percent.
Flyers reportedly interested in Shane Wright from Seattle
The most interesting thing here is that there were previous reports that the Flyers were not very interested in Wright — potentially seeing him as more of a middle-six center and with players like Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, and Jack Berglund in the prospect pool, why would they go out and get just an older version of what they can eventually become? It makes sense why they weren’t so interested in pursuing Wright when they were thinking more of a longer-term rebuild, but could that have changed after last season’s trade deadline?
Now that the Flyers have gone to the playoffs and tasted the sweet joy of winning a series, could they see this as more of an opportunity to get a little aggressive? Maybe they don’t want to wait around for the likes of Luchanko to develop into that 45-point center that Wright could be next season for them, so they go out and get their guy right away. Or, maybe they see an even higher ceiling for Wright and want to add him into the mix and in a system that they think he can thrive in, since that certainly wasn’t happening in Seattle.
There are reasons why the Flyers might actually be interested in this player, while they weren’t really thinking of him as an option just several months ago.
Or, maybe Pagnotta isn’t getting the clearest picture with what the Flyers and Kraken are talking about and it’s actually Seattle centerman Matty Beniers, who does have a higher ceiling than Wright, as the actual target. Since Seattle is already fairly busy — they acquired former top prospect Mackie Samoskevich from the Panthers on Sunday — there could be a lot of mixed signals going on.
But if the Flyers do pull off a trade for Wright, what do we think is going the other way?
What would a trade for Shane Wright look like for the Flyers?
It’s hard to pin down what exactly a former top prospect goes for nowadays. While Wright can be seen as a reclamation project of sorts, since he did just score roughly half the amount of points that Christian Dvorak just did for the Flyers this past season, but he is so young that he could still have his draft pedigree attached to his value.
Pagnotta mentions that the Kraken are looking for a “top-tier forward” and that obviously brings Owen Tippett’s name to the forefront. Since the Flyers do need to move a winger out if they intend for both Denver Barkey and Alex Bump to be on this roster to start next season, Tippett’s name has been swirling around in trade rumors lately.
A straight one-for-one deal is out of the question. It would be malpractice for the Flyers to hand over Tippett and his bargain, long-term contract to Seattle for someone who might not even be any better than Noah Cates for his entire career.
But if Tippett is the player going to Seattle, could we see something else get added? The Kraken do have the 8th and 25th overall picks next Friday. It would feel weird for them to trade a top-10 pick and Wright for someone like Tippett, but crazier things have happened and a team like Seattle probably loves his contract so so so much.
If it’s another player that is to be added, could the Flyers go and get two birds stoned? Defenseman Vince Dunn has one year left on his contract before he hits free agency and has a 16-team no-trade list. He’s going to turn 30 years old before next season starts, so he’s not a spring chicken, but he would instantly give the Flyers a top-end power-play quarterback and someone to bring a whole lot of offense to this blue line.
And if Dunn is part of the deal, it wouldn’t surprise us if there is a contract extension as soon as July 1 to keep him in Philadelphia for a few more years past next season.
Only problem is that at 6-foot, he goes against the grain of the Flyers wanting a bigger blue line, but he does have some dynamic talents that they do need.
Other interesting adds to the package could be some prospects.
Julius Miettinen is a big, 6-foot-3 centerman that is just wrapping up his junior career for the WHL champion Everett Silvertips and was a second-round pick by the Kraken in 2024. Blake Fiddler was the Kraken’s 36th overall pick just last year and is a very large and mobile right-handed defenseman. And if we want to get a little bit more fun, Jani Nyman is a demon on the right wing with a heavy shot and a physical game — he seriously has a cannon attached to his arm. While the Flyers don’t necessarily need another winger, Nyman is someone we could see them falling in love with.
We’re not even sure if Wright and a decent prospect is enough for the Flyers to part ways with Owen Tippett. If it’s for both Dunn and Wright, and maybe the Flyers add a pick or a prospect, then we can see something coming to fruition to really give Philadelphia what they need for the next few years.
Either way, this is going to be an interesting couple of weeks.
