49 Fun Facts About Seattle Kraken

Which team won the Kraken's first home game?

Vancouver Canucks won 4-2 on October 23, 2021, scoring three times in the third period after Seattle had led 2-1, and spoiled the first night in the rebuilt arena.

Whose expansion fee was $150 million below the Kraken's?

Vegas Golden Knights paid $500 million to join in 2017; Seattle's price was $650 million, and Vegas was the one club exempt from the 2021 expansion draft that stocked the Kraken.

Which PCHA club became the first U.S.-based team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1917?

The Metropolitans, Seattle's PCHA team, lost the opener 8-4 to the Montreal Canadiens, then won the next three games by a combined 19-3 to take the Cup.

Why was the 1919 Stanley Cup Final in Seattle never finished?

The Spanish flu pandemic put several Montreal players in hospital hours before the deciding game, with the series level at 2-2-1; defenceman Joe Hall died days later.

Which franchise was lined up to move to Seattle in 2013 before Glendale's council voted 4-3 to keep it?

Phoenix Coyotes had been owned by the NHL since a 2009 bankruptcy, and the league planned to move them, most likely to Seattle, if no Glendale lease was agreed by July 2013.

Which two men fronted the ownership group when the NHL considered Seattle's application in 2017?

David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, a private-equity chief and a Hollywood producer, led the bid; the NHL's governors approved it unanimously on December 4, 2018.

Which Hall of Famer was hired in 2019 as the Kraken's first general manager?

Ron Francis had been Carolina's general manager until 2018; hired two years before Seattle's first game, he said he wanted speed, character and competitiveness.

Where in Seattle did the Kraken reveal their picks in the 2021 expansion draft?

Gas Works Park, on the north shore of Lake Union, hosted the show; Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak and Chris Driedger had already agreed deals and counted as their old teams' picks.

Which prospect, long tipped to go first in the 2022 NHL draft, slid to the Kraken at fourth overall?

Shane Wright watched Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Logan Cooley go ahead of him in Montreal, then said he would play with a chip on his shoulder.

Who was the Kraken's first head coach?

Dave Hakstol took Seattle from last place in its division to 100 points and a Jack Adams Award nomination in his second season, then was fired a year later.

Who was named the Kraken's inaugural captain in October 2021?

Mark Giordano, Calgary's captain until Seattle took him in the expansion draft, wore the 'C' for just over five months before he was traded to Toronto in March 2022.

Who scored the first goal in Kraken history, in a 4-3 loss at Vegas?

Ryan Donato scored on a rebound with Seattle 3-0 down; the Kraken fought back to 3-3 before Vegas scored the winner 35 seconds after the tying goal.

The Kraken retired No. 32 before their home opener to honour being the 32nd team and what else?

32,000 first-day ticket deposits were the fans' doing, so CEO Tod Leiweke told the crowd 'You did it' and raised their number before the first home game was played.

Which goalie recorded the Kraken's first shutout, against the Islanders in February 2022?

Philipp Grubauer, signed as a free agent the previous summer, stopped all 19 Islanders shots and kept the game scoreless until Seattle scored three times in the third period.

Who led the Kraken in scoring in 2021-22?

Jared McCann arrived by a side door: Toronto traded for him four days before the expansion draft, then lost him to Seattle, where he scored 27 goals.

Which NHL first did the Kraken achieve in January 2023?

Winning all seven games of a seven-game trip had never been done; the run included a 3-0 shutout that handed Boston its first regulation home loss of the season.

Whom did the Kraken upset in seven games in their first playoff series in 2023?

Colorado Avalanche were the reigning champions; Oliver Bjorkstrand scored both goals in a 2-1 Game 7 win in Denver, the first such upset by an expansion team in its first series.

Which team ended the Kraken's 2023 run in a seven-game second round?

Dallas Stars won Game 7 by 2-1 at home, two days after Seattle had forced the decider with a 6-3 win at Climate Pledge Arena.

Which goalie posted the first shutout in Winter Classic history as the Kraken beat Vegas 3-0 in 2024?

Joey Daccord made 35 saves at T-Mobile Park; he had been the starter for only three weeks, since an injury to the team's No. 1 goalie.

Jessica Campbell, hired by the Kraken in July 2024, became the first woman to hold which NHL job?

Assistant coach: Campbell followed Dan Bylsma up from the Kraken's AHL team, where she had been his assistant; Arizona had made Dawn Braid a full-time skating coach in 2016.

Who took over as Kraken GM in 2025 when the original GM became president of hockey operations?

Jason Botterill was fired as Buffalo's general manager in 2020, joined Seattle's front office in 2021 and got a second chance at the top job on April 22, 2025.

Which company bought KeyArena's naming rights in 2020, renaming it for a climate pledge?

Amazon bought the rights but kept its own name off the building, naming it after its 2019 Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.

Climate Pledge Arena was built for which 1962 event?

The World's Fair of 1962, the Century 21 Exposition, also gave Seattle the Space Needle and the Monorail; the fair's pavilion was turned into a sports arena afterwards.

Which NBA team called the building that is now Climate Pledge Arena home before leaving Seattle in 2008?

The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder, but the 2008 settlement with the city kept the Sonics' colours in Seattle for a future team.

Which British band played the Seattle Center Coliseum, now Climate Pledge Arena, in 1964 and 1966?

The Beatles played the Coliseum on August 21, 1964, and returned for two shows on August 25, 1966; after the 1964 concert they waited an hour, then slipped away in the back of an ambulance.

Where was the Kraken's practice facility, the Kraken Community Iceplex, built?

The former Northgate Mall was being rebuilt as a mixed-use district, and the $80 million, three-rink Iceplex opened there in September 2021 with public skating.

The '3-Rink Rush' preseason took the Kraken to Spokane, Everett and which city, home of the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds?

Kent's accesso ShoWare Center hosted the last of three 'home' games because Climate Pledge Arena was still being rebuilt; Calgary won it 4-1.

The Kraken's goal horn came from what?

A ferry boat: the horn was salvaged from the MV Hyak, a Washington State ferry that entered service in 1967 and was retired in 2019.

Which Nirvana song became the Kraken's first goal song?

Lithium was picked because the Kraken wanted a goal song with Seattle roots, a nod to Nirvana's place in the city's grunge scene.

What do the three stars throw into the crowd after Kraken home wins?

Plush salmon replaced the usual pucks and sticks from the first home win in October 2021, a nod to the fish-tossing mongers of Pike Place Market.

Which hockey film's organist played for the Kraken during their first season?

Slap Shot's rink organist, Rod Masters, played at sporadic Kraken games in 2021-22 before retiring to Arizona; a 29-year-old who builds pipe organs took over.

Which of these is one of the Kraken's official team colours?

Red alert is the only shade in the Kraken palette that is not a blue; the team's colour guide says the logo's red eye gives a 'hint of the beast'.

The Kraken's 2022-23 Reverse Retro uniform honoured which 1940s Pacific Coast Hockey League team?

The Ironmen played in the Pacific Coast league from 1944 to 1952, then became the Bombers, the Americans and, in 1958, the Totems.

How was the Kraken's 2024 Winter Classic jersey design leaked before its official unveiling?

Utah Jazz players wore it into their arena for a pregame photo that the NBA team posted, tagging the Kraken, days before the November 2023 unveiling.

The Kraken's 2025 black alternate uniform has glow-in-the-dark elements that nod to what?

Bioluminescence inspired the 'stealth-mode' crest: stitched black on black, it all but vanishes on the jersey until its ice-blue outline glows in the dark.

Kraken mascot Buoy is based on which Seattle landmark?

The Fremont Troll, the concrete giant under the Aurora Bridge, is said to be Buoy's uncle; the sea troll's debut slipped to October 2022 after COVID postponed games.

What was the name of the husky-mix 'team dog' the Kraken promoted in their first season?

Davy Jones, a four-month-old rescue adopted through Dog Gone Seattle, met fans at home games while he trained to become a therapy dog.

Everett Fitzhugh and J. T. Brown made history in February 2022 as the NHL's first what?

The All-Black broadcast duo came about when radio voice Fitzhugh moved to television for a night beside analyst Brown, because the regular TV announcer had a national game.

Which two Seattle celebrities joined the Kraken's ownership group as minority owners in 2022?

Marshawn Lynch and Macklemore joined the investor group on April 18, 2022; the team handed Lynch the keys to the Zamboni, and video of his joyride at the practice rink came out the same day.

Where are the Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Firebirds, based?

Coachella Valley, near Palm Springs, beat out Boise for the team, but arena delays pushed the Firebirds' debut back a year to 2022-23.

Who won the Calder Trophy for the Kraken in 2022-23 with 57 points?

Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, took 160 of 196 first-place votes after leading all rookies in points as Seattle reached the playoffs for the first time.

Bernie Morris, the star of Seattle's 1917 Stanley Cup win, missed the 1919 final after being jailed for what?

Draft evasion: the Canadian-born Morris had claimed exemption as a foreign citizen but missed an army physical, and was sentenced to two years' hard labour at Alcatraz.

Who was named the second captain in Kraken history in October 2024?

Jordan Eberle, an original Kraken from the 2021 expansion draft, got the 'C' hours before the season opener, ending two and a half years without a captain.

Who scored the first Kraken goal ever at Climate Pledge Arena, on October 23, 2021?

Vince Dunn, a defenceman, scored with four seconds left in the first period of the home opener, but the Kraken let a third-period lead slip and lost.

Which ECHL team became the Kraken's affiliate from 2022–23, replacing the Allen Americans?

Kansas City Mavericks signed a multi-year deal in July 2022 and two seasons later reached the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time in club history.

Which part of KeyArena survived its rebuild as Climate Pledge Arena?

The roof, a protected city landmark, was held up on temporary steel columns while crews dug a new, deeper arena bowl beneath it.

With which NHL team did the Kraken share the AHL's Charlotte Checkers in their first season?

Florida Panthers prospects shared Charlotte with Seattle's for one season, because the Kraken's own AHL team was still waiting for its arena to be built.

The Kraken's media-voted team MVP award is named after which coach of Seattle's 1917 Stanley Cup winners?

Pete Muldoon coached Seattle to the 1917 Cup and later became the Chicago Black Hawks' first coach; legend says he cursed the team when it fired him.

Which junior-hockey captain became the first player the Kraken ever signed, in May 2021?

Luke Henman, the 21-year-old captain of Quebec's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and a 2018 Carolina draft pick, agreed terms in the middle of a junior playoff series.