Seattle, meet the Kraken. The NHL announced the name of its newest expansion team on Thursday. Anyone who guessed the new team would be the Seattle Kraken, congrats! You were correct. The team released the logo and name in a live press conference and also tweeted out a very cool hype video showing some of the inspiration for the name:
A legend from the deep awakens.
— Seattle Kraken (@NHLSeattle_) July 23, 2020
Meet the Seattle Kraken → https://t.co/unnbIiQvq8 pic.twitter.com/yCdjnFrZ63
The team will be the NHL's 32nd franchise and is expected to play in the 2021-22 season.
Here's a closer look at their colors, logo and first look at their jersey.
The NHL's newest team is the Seattle Kraken.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 23, 2020
Grade the logo and look. pic.twitter.com/weMqI0owvV
According to their website, their main team colors are "deep sea blue, ice blue" along with "boundless blue, shadow blue and red alert" as accent colors -- perfect for an ocean theme. They also released three logos, including the "S" that pays homage to the history of hockey in the city -- with the detail of a single tentacle inside the letter -- an anchor with the iconic Space Needle mixed in the design and the third with the "Seattle Kraken" name.
The team's website gives a small jersey preview. Showing the red details throughout and the secondary logo included.
The announcement was made at Climate Pledge Arena, the future home of the Kraken. Once known as KeyArena, It will be the world's first sustainable arena. Those working on the construction project were on hand for the event.
The focus of the name reveal was not just to tell the world Seattle's nickname, but to explain the process of getting to the final name. NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke explained that the ownership group took the public's opinions into account and spent a lot of time looking over every name suggested by the city's hockey fans.
The website reads, "In Seattle, we welcome voyagers. Our port city brings legends from all over the world. We cross boundless oceans and dense wilderness, finding our beasts along the way. These legends are home to this rugged coastal wonderland with a name etched on Lord Stanley."
The team teased their name on Wednesday, tweeting out that the name would be dropped on Thursday at 12 ET. The clip suggested it would be water themed, which was accurate foreshadowing.
07.23.2020 - 9:00am PT
— NHL Seattle (@NHLSeattle_) July 23, 2020
The 32nd franchise comes to life. pic.twitter.com/4J8k0UTEn3
The NHL originally planned to announce the name of its newest team during this season's All-Star break. The delay was in part caused by trademarks, with the team wanting to have options.
Back in January, they responded to rumors that the team would be called "Kraken" saying, "While we're aware of some fishy rumors surrounding our team name, please rest assured we're doing our due diligence by scouring the depths of the ocean, the tallest mountains, and the densest parts of the forest to find the right name for our great, green city."
