Hey NHL, now is the perfect time to announce Seattle’s franchise name
By Mary Clarke
With the world starved for sports news of any kind, now is the time for the NHL to announce the name of the upcoming Seattle franchise.
The NHL — and hockey in general — has been put on the back burner for two weeks now due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been a tough time for sports fans overall, as the world has come grinding to a halt thanks to the virus.
With the lack of games, and sports news at large, over the last few weeks, the NHL has a real opportunity on their hands here. Due to the lack of anything positive sports related, the league could swoop in and provide a much-needed boost of optimism and levity… by revealing the name of the upcoming Seattle franchise.
The last we heard from the NHL on this matter, there were reports that the name and branding of the Seattle team would be announced by the All-Star break in late-January. That deadline has long since passed, with no real reason given for the potential delay.
In the months since, we’ve heard rumors that Kraken is the frontrunner name for the NHL’s 32nd team, a decision that — personally — would go a long way in making the franchise stand out from the pack while providing a unique branding opportunity. The name, however, isn’t without its flaws, as all things are.
Also. NHL Seattle should consider a name other than ‘Kraken’ for its franchise. light
Whatever the name is, however, the NHL should seriously consider announcing it to the world as soon as humanly possible. The entire world is starved for positive news of any kind — sports related or not — and the NHL has a real opportunity here to drum up support for its 32nd team that will eventually play alongside the rest of the league.
The upcoming Seattle franchise won’t hit the ice until the 2021-22 season, but that doesn’t mean that NHL can’t get fans excited about the prospect of a new hockey team on the horizon. Especially if the league knocks the branding and marketing of the team out of the park, which they did for their 31st team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
(Of course, it also helped that Vegas made the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season when no one expected them to.)
One of the holdups the league may be experiencing is the fact that the team’s name and branding may have not fully be decided on yet. Though that report states that the league was looking to announce in late-January, plans change and the NHL likely doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes with Seattle’s trademark situation like they did with Vegas in 2016.
However, should the NHL be able to pull things together in the coming weeks, announcing the name of the Seattle franchise should absolutely be on their list of things to accomplish. While it’s not as important or pressing as the eventual — hopeful — resumption of the 2019-20 season, the league has the opportunity here to take the sports world by storm when absolutely nothing of note is happening for the foreseeable future.
The addition of a new sports team is always a momentous occasion, one that brings new fans into the fold and excites fans across the sport. Though we won’t see the Seattle team take to the ice for another year and change, now is the perfect opportunity for the NHL to announce the team’s name and give sports fans something to cheer about.
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