Seattle Kraken

The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve Seattle's expansion team on December 4, 2018, to begin play in the 2021–22 season as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes were to be shifted from the Pacific Division to the Central Division to balance out the four divisions at eight teams each. The organization hired Ron Francis as their general manager to initiate operations for the team.[6]

On July 23, 2020, the franchise announced their team name, the Seattle Kraken, as well as their team colors, branding, and home jersey.[7] The team's name comes from the mythical kraken of Scandinavian folklore and its resemblance to the native giant Pacific octopus, which is found in the waters of the Puget Sound, near Seattle.[8] On April 30, 2021, the franchise paid the final installment of the $650 million expansion fee, officially making the Seattle Kraken the 32nd team of the NHL.[9][10]

On June 24, 2021, the organization hired Dave Hakstol as their inaugural head coach.[11] An expansion draft was held on July 21, 2021, in a similar manner to a previous expansion draft held in 2017 for the Vegas Golden Knights, who were themselves exempt from the 2021 expansion draft.[12][13][14]

During the 2021 preseason, the Kraken played their three home games in the home arenas of three Washington state Western Hockey League teams, the Spokane Chiefs, Everett Silvertips, and Seattle Thunderbirds. On October 11, the Kraken named Mark Giordano the team's first captain.[15] They played their first regular season game on October 12, 2021, a 4–3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Ryan Donato scored the team's first goal. The Kraken's first win came in their second game on October 14, when they defeated the Nashville Predators 4–3.[16]

The Kraken use the horn from the MV Hyak ferry boat as their official goal horn. At the first two home games, the Hyak's horn was not yet functional, so the team played a recording of it.[23] The team plays the Nirvana song "Lithium" after every Kraken goal at home.[24]

After their first win at home against the Montreal Canadiens on October 26, the Kraken featured a new postgame tradition during the "Three Stars of the Game" ceremony. Instead of the honored players tossing conventional souvenir pucks or sticks to the fans, they threw a plush stuffed toy sockeye salmon into the crowd to mimic Seattle's Pike Place Market fish toss and what the Northwest wild-caught salmon represents to the state of Washington. The "fish toss" idea came from the Kraken's game-night experience team, which includes Jonny Greco and Ayron Sequeira.[25]

Rod Masters, the organist from the 1977 film Slap Shot, became the official organist for the Kraken starting with the team's January 1, 2022 home game. As Climate Pledge Arena does not have an organ, Masters plays music using electronic keyboards.[26]

Everett Fitzhugh serves as the team's primary radio play-by-play announcer. Fitzhugh had previously done play-by-play for the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones. He is the first full-time play-by-play announcer of African-American heritage in NHL history.[28][29] Former NHL player and Vancouver Canucks broadcaster Dave Tomlinson serves as Fitzhugh's color analyst.[30] Fitzhugh tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the Kraken's first regular-season road trip; on radio broadcasts, TV announcer John Forslund and veteran KJR broadcaster Ian Furness filled in on play-by-play duties.[31]

Kraken games are broadcast on 950 KJR with some games on 96.5 KJAQ.[32][33] Other stations on the "Kraken Audio Network" include 1450 KONP in Port Angeles[34] and KALE in Richland, Washington.

Kraken games are broadcast regionally on Root Sports Northwest for the team's first five seasons. Former Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund serves as the team's television play-by-play announcer.[29][35] J. T. Brown is the television analyst.[36] Alison Lukan, who normally serves as a studio analyst for Root Sports Northwest, joined Forslund in the TV broadcast booth in March 2022 while Brown was in COVID-19 protocols.[37]

The telecast for the Kraken's February 17, 2022 game against the Winnipeg Jets had Fitzhugh on play-by-play and Brown on color commentary, comprising the first all-Black broadcast booth in NHL history.[38]

Updated April 28, 2022[42][43]

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
10		Matty Beniers	C	L	19	2021	Hingham, Massachusetts
3		Will Borgen	D	R	25	2021	Moorhead, Minnesota
2		Dennis Cholowski	D	L	24	2022	Langley, British Columbia
9		Ryan Donato	C	L	26	2021	Scituate, Massachusetts
72		Joonas Donskoi	RW	R	30	2021	Raahe, Finland
60		Chris Driedger	G	L	27	2021	Winnipeg, Manitoba
29		Vince Dunn	D	L	25	2021	Mississauga, Ontario
7		Jordan Eberle (A)	RW	R	31	2021	Regina, Saskatchewan
4		Haydn Fleury	D	L	25	2021	Carlyle, Saskatchewan
67		Morgan Geekie	C	R	23	2021	Strathclair, Manitoba
37		Yanni Gourde (A)	C	L	30	2021	Saint-Narcisse, Quebec
31		Philipp Grubauer	G	L	30	2021	Rosenheim, Germany
25		Karson Kuhlman	C	R	26	2022	Esko, Minnesota
6		Adam Larsson (A)	D	R	29	2021	Skellefteå, Sweden
73		Kole Lind	RW	L	23	2021	Swift Current, Saskatchewan
16		Jared McCann	C	L	25	2021	Stratford, Ontario
24		Jamie Oleksiak	D	L	29	2021	Toronto, Ontario
51		Derrick Pouliot	D	L	28	2022	Estevan, Saskatchewan
49		Victor Rask	C	L	29	2022	Leksand, Sweden
17		Jaden Schwartz (A)	LW	L	29	2021	Melfort, Saskatchewan
15		Riley Sheahan	C	L	30	2021	St. Catharines, Ontario
28		Carson Soucy	D	L	27	2021	Irma, Alberta
91		Daniel Sprong	RW	R	25	2022	Amsterdam, Netherlands
13		Brandon Tanev	LW	L	30	2021	Toronto, Ontario
21		Alexander Wennberg	C	L	27	2021	Nacka, Sweden

The team is owned by Seattle Hockey Partners, an organization consisting of David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tod Leiweke.[44] Minority owners of the Kraken include Chris Ackerley, Ted Ackerley, Jay Deutsch, Mitch Garber, Adrian Hanauer, Andy Jassy, Marshawn Lynch, Macklemore,[45] Len Potter, Sam Slater,[46] David Wright, and Jeff Wright.[47][48][49]

Ron Francis and Dave Hakstol are serving as the Kraken franchise's first general manager and head coach, respectively

• Ron Francis, 2019–present[6]

• Dave Hakstol, 2021–present[11]

• Mark Giordano, 2021–2022[50]

• 32 was retired on October 23, 2021, immediately before the team played their first regular season home game, in recognition of the team being the 32nd to join the NHL and in honor of the 32,000 fans who placed deposits for tickets on the first possible day.[51]
• 99 was retired by the NHL for all its member teams in honor of Wayne Gretzky at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.[52]

The Kraken have four player awards that are given after each season. The Kraken's most valuable player, as voted on by Seattle-area media, receives the Pete Muldoon Award. The player with the most mentions in the three stars of each Kraken home game, computed using a points system, wins the Three Stars of the Year Award. The Guyle Fielder Award goes to the teammate who best exemplifies "perseverence, hustle and dedication" as voted upon by their teammates and coaches. The Fan Favorite Award goes to a player who wins a fan vote.[53][54]

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

•  *  – current Kraken player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game