Seattle Kraken: NHL's 32nd Team Has A Name

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle's new hockey team officially has a name, and it's one that's been in the conversation since the start: the Kraken. NHL Seattle teased the reveal Wednesday night with a video showing a fishing crew in Puget Sound pulling up a net containing a seaweed-covered strobe light. Thursday morning, the Kraken was born.

The team's new website notes the Kraken emerged as an early frontrunner in public conversation when Seattle first landed the team in 2018.

"Two years later, and that same name still carries the conversation," the message reads. "215,000 fan votes, 50+ fan forums & speaking engagements and over 12 months of social media listening have supported this phenomenon."

NHL Seattle says the team's logo, a modified "S," is a nod to the Seattle Metropolitans — the first American team to win the Stanley Cup back in 1917.

The Seattle Kraken will hit the ice beginning in the 2021-22 season, once work is complete on the recently-christened Climate Pledge Arena.