Kraken recall former first-round pick, send thriving rookie to AHL in surprising move

In a series of interesting roster moves, the Seattle Kraken announced they have recalled forward Shane Wright from their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds while sending down forward Tye Kartye in the same transaction. Furthermore, the team announced they had placed Jaden Schwartz on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 28.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise given that amid his rookie season, Kartye is tied for 10th on the team in scoring, and tied for fifth in goals. In his own right, Wright is off to a solid start this season in Coachella Valley, scoring nine goals and 16 points in 18 games, sitting fourth on the team in scoring.

However, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times gave some context to the transaction, indicating that it was made for “salary-cap management” purposes, and it would make more sense by the end of the weekend. It didn’t take long for the transaction to make sense, as the Kraken traded for Tomas Tatar only a few hours later.

Other notes:

• Injured in their most recent game against the Winnipeg Jets, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that San Jose Sharks forward Nico Sturm will not travel with the team for their upcoming road trip. Thankfully, the road trip only consists of two games, before the Sharks return to the Bay Area next Tuesday. In 26 games so far this season, Sturm has recorded two goals and four points, tied for 17th on the team in scoring.
• In similar news to Sturm, Peng also reported that forward Ryan Carpenter would not be making the road trip with the team, as well. Carpenter has been out of the line since the team’s game on Dec. 3, suffering from an undisclosed injury. Providing a bit of depth scoring for the team this season, Carpenter has recorded one goal and five points in 18 games, averaging just under 12 minutes of ice time per game.