Seattle Kraken: What to expect from the NHL’s 32nd team

Beginning for the 2021–22 season, the NHL will have a new look with a brand new west coast team—its 32nd—the Seattle Kraken.

As the NHL expands its footprint in North America, they continue to try and tap into newer markets rather than recycling recently vacated markets. Houston was brought up several times as a city that could potentially land the 32nd team, but, in the end, Seattle took the crown. This is not Seattle’s first NHL team, though. In fact, Seattle already has more Stanley Cup championships to its credit than their Canadian rivals in Vancouver as well as Arizona, Buffalo, Columbus, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, San Jose, Vegas and Winnipeg.

The history

From 1915 to 1924, Seattle had a Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) team named the Metropolitans that upset the National Hockey Association (NHA) Montreal Canadiens three games to one in 1917 to claim their first and only Stanley Cup championship. This was not their only visit to the Stanley Cup Final, though. Seattle faced the Canadiens again in 1919, and the Ottawa Senators in 1920. Oddly enough, the 1919 matchup was never completed as a result of the world’s last major pandemic prior to COVID-19, the Spanish Flu.

The Metropolitans folded in 1924 when their arena was bought out and turned into a parking garage, which left the city without professional hockey for almost 100 years, but holds the distinction of being the first team in the United States to win the Stanley Cup. The New York Rangers would go on to take the title of first United States NHL team to win the Cup.

Hockey still has a rich history in the Pacific Northwest even though there has not been an NHL-level professional team in nearly a century.

Portland, which is just under 200 miles away, has been home to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks since 1976 and was home to the PCHA Portland Rosebuds from 1914 to 1918. Portland was also home to the Buckaroos, Eagles and Penguins through 1951.

Seattle has been home to several non-NHL professional teams as well, hosting the NIHL Seattle Isacsson Iron Workers from 1943–44, the PCHL Seattle Ironmen from 1944–52, the WHL Seattle Bombers from 1952–54, the WHL Seattle Americans from 1955–58, and the WHL/CHL Seattle Totems from 1958–75. In 1977, the WCHL Kamloops Chiefs (formerly the Vancouver Nats) were moved to Seattle and renamed the Seattle Breakers until they were renamed again in 1984 to the Seattle Thunderbirds, where they remain a very successful WHL franchise to this day.

The Kraken are not the NHL’s first “krak” at expansion in Seattle, though. In 1974, the NHL awarded a Seattle expansion franchise to businessman Vince Abbey. After several missed deadlines and failure to acquire both the California Golden Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL pulled the expansion plans in June of 1977. Abbey later sued the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks for anti-trust violations, but that lawsuit was later settled in favor of the NHL.

A second attempt at an NHL expansion team in Seattle by a local group led by Seattle SuperSonics owner Barry Ackerley was made in 1990, but it also failed over the financial terms the NHL demanded. In 2011, multiple reports suggested Chicago Wolves owner and businessman Don Levin had expressed interest in building a new arena in nearby Bellevue, Washington, that could host an NHL team.

Recent history

In December 2018, the NHL approved a proposal by a group called the Seattle Hockey Partners to grant an expansion franchise to the city of Seattle. The Seattle Hockey Partners are led by billionaire businessman David Bonderman, legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, as well as former Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild CEO and former NFL COO Tod Leiweke.

Even though the team still did not have a name, the eventual Kraken named former Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis as the team’s first general manager.

This past July, with much fanfare, the Seattle franchise announced the team colors (deep sea blue, ice blue, boundless blue, shadow blue, red alert) and branding under the name Seattle Kraken. The logo was revealed as a sea monster hidden in a custom Calligraphic style “S” to pay homage to the Seattle Metropolitans.

Since being awarded a franchise, Seattle has made a very deliberate effort to be the most diverse and progressive organization in professional hockey. They began by not only building one of the most robust analytics department in the NHL, but focussed on hiring several highly qualified female and minority employees for their front office and hockey operations staff.

On Aug. 7, 2020, Seattle announced that Everett Fitzhugh (formerly of the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones) would serve as the team’s play-by-play announcer and will become the first full-time play-by-play announcer of African American heritage in NHL history.

The arena

Not only is their staff the most progressive, but their new arena is as well. As part of an earlier 2017 memorandum of understanding between the city of Seattle and the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group (led by Leiweke’s older brother, Tim), OVG eventually proposed a $700 million renovation of the former KeyArena in 2018, just prior to the NHL’s announcement of the Seattle franchise. Eventual project costs increased to between $825 and $850 million.

The arena renovation did not come without its hangups, though. Landmark status of the arena’s exterior and roof was approved by a landmarks preservation board on Aug. 2, 2017, and the exterior was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 10, 2018. This played into the OVG renovation plans, as the proposal would lower the arena’s bowl 15 feet within the existing roof structure.

On June 25, 2020, Amazon.com and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, purchased the naming rights, changing the KeyArena’s name to Climate Pledge Arena. Bezos chose the name to call for action on climate change. As a result, Amazon and Global Optimism also announced The Climate Pledge, which calls on signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement. The new home of the Kraken is expected to be the first net zero-carbon certified arena in the world and will “harness the power of sports and entertainment to inspire change on the climate crises.”

Climate Pledge Arena recently lit their new roof signage for the first time and plan to officially open in the summer of 2021.

Tuesday night’s lighting of @ClimateArena‘s faux-neon ‘crown ID’ was a glorious final step in creating a new entry on the Seattle skyline.

Here’s the story behind what you see → https://t.co/oAPKDIqzYz pic.twitter.com/1eiuRI5vuZ

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 10, 2020

The future

As of publication, Seattle has not named a head coach, but there are several familiar names who could get the head job. People mentioned as candidates are former Detroit and Toronto head coach Mike Babcock, former Florida and Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant and former Washington and Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau.

A wild card in this mix is former Swedish national team head coach Rikard Gronborg. Gronborg has had success everywhere he has gone and comes highly decorated. Currently, he is the head coach of the ZSC Lions in the Swiss National League, where they are one of the top teams. Many, including myself, feel as though he has paid his dues and deserves a shot in the NHL.

The two biggest events before opening night will undoubtedly be the NHL Expansion Draft and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Most NHL fans should be familiar with the plans and rules of the expansion draft, especially ones in Vegas. The Kraken will select one player from each NHL team, except Vegas, for a total of 30 (14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies) and will fall under the following guidelines:

Seattle must choose a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2021–22 regular season. Those players must have an aggregate Expansion Draft value that is between 60-100% of the 2021 season’s upper limit for the salary cap. They cannot buy out any players chosen earlier than the summer of 2022.

Current NHL teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. The following conditions set forth by the NHL must be met for the protected/exposed players:

• • All players with no-movement clauses at the time of the draft must be protected and will be counted toward their team’s protected list.
  • Players with no-movement clauses can only be exposed if they chose to voluntarily waive those clauses.
  • First and second-year NHL players will be exempt from selection and the protection list, as well as unsigned draft choices. 

In addition, all NHL teams must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the draft:

• • One defenseman who is

1. 1. 1. Under contract in 2021–22
      2. Played in at least 27 NHL games* in the 2021 season or played in at least 54 NHL games* in the prior two seasons.

• • Two forwards who are:

1. 1. 1. Under contract in 2021–22
      2. Played at least 27 NHL games* the prior season or played in at least 54 NHL games* in the prior two seasons.

• • One goalie who is:
    • Under contract in 2021–22

or 

• • • Will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021–22.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. If a team chooses to make an RFA goalie available, that goalie must have a qualifying offer prior to the exposed list being submitted.

• Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 41 consecutive games* (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be exposed unless approval is received from the NHL.

* These numbers were adjusted according to the shortened 2021 season

The Kraken are likely to get the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, similar to the Golden Knights in 2017, and would not be eligible for a chance at moving up in the draft lottery.

The outlook

Seattle has done so many good things since their selection as the next NHL franchise, and I would expect that to continue based on their progressive ownership and front office. From their team name to their logo, to their arena, to their analytical approach and to their inclusion practices, the Kraken are proving to be one of the pioneers of the next generation of NHL organizations.

I would not bet on them having the same success as the Vegas Golden Knights did in 2018, but they could certainly make the playoffs and even win a round in their inaugural season. The future is bright in Seattle for 2021.