Seattle Kraken

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seattle Kraken
founding 4th December 2018
history Seattle Kraken
from 2021
Stadion Climate Pledge Arena
Location Seattle , Washington
Team colors     
league National Hockey League
Conference Western Conference
division Pacific Division
Head coach vacant
Team captain vacant
General manager CanadaCanada Ron Francis
owner Seattle Hockey Partners
Cooperations Palm Springs ( AHL )

The Seattle Kraken are an American ice hockey franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) based in Seattle , Washington . On December 4, 2018, the NHL officially announced that the team would join the league for the 2021/22 season . The team will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference and play their home games in the until then renovated Climate Pledge Arena .

history

Ice hockey in Seattle

The Seattle Metropolitans - Stanley Cup winners of 1917

The sport of ice hockey looks back on a long tradition in Seattle, so the metropolis of the Pacific Northwest received its first professional team in 1915 with the Seattle Metropolitans . The team that took part in the game operations of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) had only existed for nine years, but won the Stanley Cup in 1917 as the first US team . After the PCHA was dissolved, the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) provided a number of Seattle-based minor league teams in the first half of the 20th century , including the Eskimos , the Olympics and Seahawks , the Ironmen and the Stars . From 1952, the Western Hockey League succeeded the PCHL and was represented in Seattle by the Bombers , the Americans and the Seattle Totems , although only the totems over a longer period (1958-1975) existed. With the dissolution of the totems, the era of professional ice hockey in the city ended for the time being, since since 1977 only the Seattle Thunderbirds (founded as Breakers ) have been playing in the Western Hockey League , a junior league of the same name , since 1977 .

expansion

In the late 1960s and 1970s, all four major North American sports leagues expanded to Seattle: the NBA with the Seattle SuperSonics (1967), the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks (1974), and the MLB with the Seattle Mariners (1977), while also the NHL awarded the city an expansion team on June 12, 1974 . The totems were to compete under the same name in the country's highest ice hockey league, but it was mainly the uncertain funding that led the NHL to withdraw its commitment the following summer. In 1990 another attempt to bring an NHL franchise to Seattle failed , again due to financial issues and the peculiarities of the KeyArena . On the one hand, the SuperSonics were not ready to share their arena with an ice hockey team, and on the other hand, the arena was not designed for ice hockey, which meant that visibility was obstructed.

Expansion was discussed regularly over the following years, particularly since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City . In addition, rumors lingered that the Phoenix Coyotes would be sold and relocated to Seattle. At the same time, Nate Silver published a study in 2013, according to which Seattle has the largest number of fans of all US cities without an NHL team. Finally, in December 2017, the city council approved major renovations at the KeyArena, so the NHL announced that it was considering expansion. The official application was submitted on February 13, 2018 by a group of owners headed by Jerry Bruckheimer and David Bonderman . Furthermore, it was Dave Tippett already engaged in June 2018 as a consultant.

On December 4, 2018, Seattle was officially awarded an expansion team by the NHL, which should start playing from the 2021/22 season . The team is to be integrated into the Pacific Division of the Western Conference , while the Arizona Coyotes move to the Central Division , so that from now on each division is occupied by eight teams. In addition, as in 2017 for the Vegas Golden Knights , an expansion draft is to be held. In total, the owner consortium pays an admission fee of US $ 650 million, US $ 150 million more than the Golden Knights just under two years ago.

At the end of June 2019 it was announced that the group of investors had also applied to the American Hockey League (AHL) for a franchise that will also start playing in Palm Springs , California in 2021 and act as the farm team for the new NHL team. About a month later, Ron Francis was introduced as Seattle's first general manager , who should be responsible for building up the team. The Hall of Fame member previously worked for the Carolina Hurricanes in the same capacity .

On July 23, 2020, the name "Kraken" and the team logo were finally presented and participation in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft in June 2021 was announced.

Web links

Commons : Seattle Kraken  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Dan Rosen: Seattle NHL expansion approved by Board of Governors. nhl.com, December 4, 2018, accessed December 4, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Totems and the NHL - Part II. Seattletotems.org, accessed on December 5, 2018 (English).
  3. ↑ Sean Leahy: Phoenix Coyotes moving to Seattle? Roenick reportedly part of Plan B for NHL. yahoo.com, June 16, 2013, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  4. ^ Nate Silver : Why Can't Canada Win The Stanley Cup? fivethirtyeight.com, May 31, 2013, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Bettman says NHL will consider Seattle expansion bid. usatoday.com, December 8, 2017, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  6. ^ Geoff Baker: Seattle group files application for NHL expansion team to play at KeyArena. seattletimes.com, February 13, 2018, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Jesse Campigotto: Seattle has a Stanley Cup - now it's getting an NHL team. cbc.ca, December 5, 2018, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  8. ^ Geoff Baker: NHL Seattle chooses Palm Springs as site for new AHL farm team. seattletimes.com, June 26, 2019, accessed on July 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Seattle's New NHL Team Chooses Ron Francis as GM nytimes.com, July 18, 2019, accessed July 23, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Seattle Kraken reveal nickname for NHL expansion team. nhl.com, July 23, 2020, accessed on July 24, 2020 .