New Seattle team likely won't be named "Metropolitans" -- Release the KRAKEN

[PCSPounder]

Those marks aren’t bad.

Since I’m just catching up, something I should mention about timing. Even through May and into early June, some COVID patients in Puget Sound were rather quietly being sent to Portland due to ICU and spacing issues. Waiting a month past that was, IMO, the wise course. Probably waiting past the quite isolation Capitol Hill zone issue was wise as well. Even though what’s going on in Portland right now is isolated to maybe 6-12 blocks and only 6-8 hours a night, imagine trying to unveil a logo here.

 

[StreetHawk]

I don't love the name, but the logos and jerseys are fantastic, especially the Space Needle Anchor.

Personally would prefer an actual image of a kraken and not just a tentacle to form an S. Seems more of a shoulder patch than main logo. I feel the same about Anaheim’s Web foot. Glad they didn’t build the space needle into the logo, just into the anchor shoulder patch.

 

[Radical Realignment]

Congrats, Seattle! You have a unique name, iconic logo, and beautiful colors.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I already hate them.

 

[LadyStanley]

Related housekeeping detail

 

[StreetHawk]

Related housekeeping detail

AZ does NOT observe daylight savings, so when the season normally begins in October, they are in PST, but come early November, they switch to MST, like Edm/Cal/Col. Then around playoff time, they shift back to PST. So, when the NHL moves to Divisional playoffs after Seattle enters, then you have 1 PST team, 1 MST, and 6 CST in the Central division. The only other option was to move AZ and COL into the Pacific and shift Edm/Cal into the Central. Thus would make 7 PST and 1 MST (Col) when it comes to divisional playoffs moving forwards and 2 MST and 6 CST teams in the Central come divisional playoffs. That's a legit argument to make. Regular season is not that big an issue, but it's the playoffs that could become one if a PST zone team like AZ has to play 2 Central division teams in the playoffs.

AZ will lose out in terms of travel.
LV and Col are pretty much a wash.
Ana/LA/SJ vs Dal/StL/Nas - big loss given the extra distance to travel, not to mention how far each of those Central teams are to one another. LA/Ana, can bus to the next stop and SJ is like a 50 minute or so plane ride from SoCal.
Van/Sea & Edm/Cal vs Win/Min & Chi - lose the benefit of being able to ride a bus to Van/Sea and Cal/Edm. Takes over 7 hours to drive to St. Paul to Winnipeg.

 

[kaiser matias]

Personally would prefer an actual image of a kraken and not just a tentacle to form an S. Seems more of a shoulder patch than main logo. I feel the same about Anaheim’s Web foot. Glad they didn’t build the space needle into the logo, just into the anchor shoulder patch.

I agree on that. I didn't even see the tentacle at first, and only after reading the backstory of the name (via the ESPN story posted here) that I knew it was there.

I do like the logo though, but don't think it really fits the idea of Kraken. The tentacles should be a far more prominent.

 

[LadyStanley]

NHL Seattle released the Kraken — and the merchandise is getting snatched up fast

Fanatics reporting merchandise sales for Kraken up 50% over Golden Knights in same time frame.

 

[LadyStanley]

Friedman with a few Kraken tidbits. Covid19 delay allowed them to reveal name, logo and jerseys at the same time.

 

[LeHab]

Kraken making an early splash:

The Seattle Kraken are the NHL's best-selling expansion identity launch ever, beating the previous record set by the Vegas Golden Knights by four times, according to Fanatics, the league's official retail partner.
Twelve days after the Kraken officially unveiled their name, logo and colors, the team is still responsible for two of the top-three selling products across all Fanatics sites, trailing only the WNBA hoodie released ahead of that league's restart.
Even with other professional leagues in full swing, the Kraken rank in the top-five selling teams for all sports across the entire Fanatics network of sites since July 24.
Meanwhile, the Kraken report that since revealing their name, they have a 35% increase in their season ticket-holder waiting list, bringing the total from 39,000 to 51,000. That's on top of the 32,000 fans who have already put down deposits for season tickets.

The team says there were 20 million visits to its website in the first 24 hours, and saw a 157% increase in social media following in that span.
Seattle also launched its own e-commerce stores that sell merchandise with their preferred catch phrase, "Release the Kraken," with full proceeds going to various local nonprofit groups. There have been 13,069 orders on that site, and it has received 2.79 million page views. (The site briefly crashed on the day of the launch.

Kraken devour Knights' expansion launch mark

 

[FeatherHead]

How long before Seattle fans are referred to as Krakheads and their barn is referred to as the Krakhouse?

I also imagine the in-house specialty is going to be sushi.

Also, how long before Seattle appropriates Detroit’s tradition of tossing octopi on the ice? Or perhaps they audible and opt for squid. Christ knows there’s no shortage of seafood in Seattle.

 

[kaiser matias]

How long before Seattle fans are referred to as Krakheads and their barn is referred to as the Krakhouse?

I also imagine the in-house specialty is going to be sushi.

Also, how long before Seattle appropriates Detroit’s tradition of tossing octopi on the ice? Or perhaps they audible and opt for squid. Christ knows there’s no shortage of seafood in Seattle.

I would imagine they'd opt for salmon, seeing how that is a thing in the port there. Of course Vancouver fans have been bringing salmon in for playoff games on and off for years, though the team has never condoned that.

 

[FeatherHead]

I would imagine they'd opt for salmon, seeing how that is a thing in the port there. Of course Vancouver fans have been bringing salmon in for playoff games on and off for years, though the team has never condoned that.

Bringing them in for what? I don’t recall ever seeing them tossed on the ice for anything

 

[kaiser matias]

Bringing them in for what? I don’t recall ever seeing them tossed on the ice for anything

It may have been longer ago than I think it was, but people brought it in just to throw it I guess. Found one video from 2012, but it obviously was not a playoff game:

 

[FeatherHead]

It may have been longer ago than I think it was, but people brought it in just to throw it I guess. Found one video from 2012, but it obviously was not a playoff game:

I could see that if they’d have gone with the Steelheads moniker.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I could see that if they’d have gone with the Steelheads moniker.

cannot because it's an current team, much like the Thunderbirds that were already out there

 

[Howie Hodge]

How long before Seattle fans are referred to as Krakheads and their barn is referred to as the Krakhouse?

I also imagine the in-house specialty is going to be sushi.

Also, how long before Seattle appropriates Detroit’s tradition of tossing octopi on the ice? Or perhaps they audible and opt for squid. Christ knows there’s no shortage of seafood in Seattle.

They're more likely to be taunted with Phil McKraken...

 

[FeatherHead]

cannot because it's an current team, much like the Thunderbirds that were already out there

Reading comprehension.

I’m aware of that. I wasn’t suggesting they use the Steelhead name. I was saying that throwing salmon on the ice would be more appropriate for a team named the Steelheads than one named the Kraken.

 

[FeatherHead]

They're more likely to be taunted with Phil McKraken...

View attachment 359317

Pretty weak taunt. Under what circumstance would that be used and be funny? I don’t see it.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Reading comprehension.

I’m aware of that. I wasn’t suggesting they use the Steelhead name. I was saying that throwing salmon on the ice would be more appropriate for a team named the Steelheads than one named the Kraken.

cannot likely use an existing name due to trademark issues..... same reason why there's a sidebar over Palm Springs having Firebirds rejected.... and why Vegas went through over Golden Knights being also tied to parachute team at USMA (West Point);

squid have been tossed on the ice, notably Detroit, and then the Rat throw in Florida a while back, which had nothing to do with Panthers

 

[Anisimovs AK]

I don't believe any of the things that came out of the supposed Kraken leak. No reliable news source ever put forward a single shred of evidence the OVG were going to use it. The only ones that did were fanboys and unreliable sources.

I personally like Sockeyes and think that is what they will end up going with. Why the delay? COVID is more than a reasonable answer. COVID has pushed back the NHL season for well over 3 months. It's more than reasonable if the NHL season was delayed far more than 3 months thar a simple naming announcement wouldn't also be pushed back as well.

They were likely planning their announcement like Vegas did. Grab the headlines with an announced dates and let attention build. The most we ever got for Seattle was it would be announced before the All-Star break. A name announcement that they probably realized would happen far too soon, not grab the headlines like Vegas, would at the very most be a distraction as COVID grabs the front page, especially with the worrying numbers in the Pacific Northwest. They likely realized as well it is safer to wait, since they have plenty of time. In PR and marketing, you don't blow your load on a one-off event at an inopportune time.

The plural of sockeye is sockeye, btw

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

The plural of sockeye is sockeye, btw

I'll ask for a grammatical pass on this one considering the OVG registered the trademark as <<Seattle Sockeyes>>, so did the writer of a children's book, and every major news outlet reported it as Sockeyes rather than <<Sockeye>>.

 

[Tawnos]

I'll ask for a grammatical pass on this one considering the OVG registered the trademark as <<Seattle Sockeyes>>, so did the writer of a children's book, and every major news outlet reported it as Sockeyes rather than <<Sockeye>>.

Sockeyes is also an acceptable plural anyway. Depends on the context.

 

[LadyStanley]

Countdown on for debut of NHL expansion Seattle Kraken

AP story on how Seattle is continuing work in the off season before the expansion draft. Some of the "ducks in a row", but many more pieces.

Kraken top selling brand in the weeks after announcement/unveiling at Fanatics.

 

[Pandemonia]

I'll ask for a grammatical pass on this one considering the OVG registered the trademark as <<Seattle Sockeyes>>, so did the writer of a children's book, and every major news outlet reported it as Sockeyes rather than <<Sockeye>>.

Plural of leaf is leaves but we got Maple Leafs.