Seattle Kraken

Lore & Background

The Kraken struggled during their inaugural season and finished last in the Pacific Division with 60 points. During the 2022–23 season, the team achieved a record of 46–28–8 and 100 points, securing fourth place in the Pacific Division and the first playoff wild card spot in the Western Conference. During the playoffs, the Kraken faced off against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. They upset the Avalanche in seven games, becoming the second expansion team to win their first playoff series over the defending Stanley Cup champion (the Vegas Golden Knights first accomplished this in 2018). However, they lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round, ending their second season. During the 2023–24 season, the team missed the playoffs, scoring only 217 goals and achieving only 81 points. This caused the Kraken to fire head coach Dave Hakstol and hire Dan Bylsma on May 28, 2024.

Reader's Guide

Professional ice hockey in Seattle dates to the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Seattle Metropolitans in 1915. Although the 1917 Metropolitans were the first United States-based team to win the Stanley Cup, the team's arena was sold in 1924, and the team folded shortly thereafter. The Seattle Totems (originally the Seattle Ironmen) played in the Western Hockey League from 1944 until the league's dissolution in 1975. Beginning in 2012, as the NHL's interest in Seattle as a market rose, the city was considered a potential site for expansion or the relocation of a team, pending a viable arena. Multiple reports suggested that the owner of the Chicago Wolves, businessman Don Levin, had expressed interest in building a new arena in nearby Bellevue that could host an NHL team. When the San Jose Sharks' former chief executive officer (CEO), Greg Jamison, was unable to meet a deadline to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes on January 31, 2013, speculation began that the team would be relocated to Seattle. On June 16, 2013, it was confirmed that the Phoenix Coyotes would move to Seattle if an arena deal between the team and the city of Glendale, Arizona, where the team played, was not reached. Under a contingency plan, if the team could not stay in Glendale, investors Ray Bartoszek and Anthony Lanza would purchase the franchise for $ million and begin operations in Seattle the following season. However, no purchase needed to be made, as on July 3, 2013, the Glendale City Council narrowly voted 4–3 to keep the Coyotes in Glendale. A 2013 study by statistician Nate Silver concluded that Seattle had the largest number of avid ice hockey fans of any U.S. media market that did not have an NHL team. On December 4, 2017, the Seattle City Council voted 7–1 to approve a memorandum of understanding between the City of Seattle and Oak View Group, a sports company co-founded by Tim Leiweke, for renovations of KeyArena. On December 7, the NHL Board of Governors agreed to consider an expansion application from Seattle with an expansion fee set at $ million. The Seattle ownership group was represented by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer. On December 4, 2018, the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the addition of a Seattle expansion team to the league.

Did You Know?

• Matty Beniers, the Kraken's first-ever draft pick, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year at the end of the 2022–23 season.
• The Kraken won all seven games of a seven-game road trip in January 2023, a feat previously accomplished by the 2019-20 Vegas Golden Knights.