Seattle's NHL team is still a long ways away from entering the NHL, but there's already a ton of excitement for a professional hockey to be returning to Seattle.
All that's left (aside from another expansion draft) is for a name to be decided on for Seattle's team and according to Senior Advisor Dave Tippett, that could happen in the fall, as per Craig Morgan of The Athletic. Tippett also said there's only one name that he doesn't think is in the running anymore.
When will you choose a name for the team?
I’m not sure, but my guess is in the fall sometime. It’s funny. I sit in those naming meetings and don’t say too much, but sometimes they ask me, “Tip, would a hockey player wear that name?” I just kind of give them the thumbs up or thumbs down.
One of the things we have learned from the fan forums is most people would like to see the team name the team. They don’t want that responsibility. They want to know the name but it’s not the biggest thing to them. They want to embrace the team, but their attitude is, ‘”Hey, you guys own it. You name it.”
Is Kraken still in the running?
(Chuckles) I don’t think the Kraken is making the final cut and that’s the only one I have ruled out.
The interesting things about a name is sometimes you think you like one and once you go through the whole branding of it, you think, “Maybe not so much” with some you liked at first. Some are OK and then there are some that surprise you and you think, “Well, maybe.”
For anyone that bet on "Kraken" being Seattle's team name, you may want to cancel that bet.
Is Tippett just trying to swerve us all by saying Kraken is not in the running? We hope so because we're kind of into the name. There are a number of other great names they can go with, though, and we're excited to not only see which one comes out on top, but what the jerseys and logos look like.
(H/T: The Athletic)
