Seattle Kraken

Team Name	Seattle Kraken
Current	2025–26 Seattle Kraken season
Bg Color	background:#FFFFFF !important; border-top:#001425 5px solid !important; border-bottom:#96D8D8 5px solid !important;
Text Color	#000000
Logo Image

Conference	Western
Division	Pacific
Founded	2021
History	Seattle Kraken 2021–present
Arena	Climate Pledge Arena
City	Seattle, Washington
Uniform Image

Uniform Image Alt	The Seattle Kraken's three uniforms: home (dark blue), away (white), and alternate (black)
Team Colors	Deep sea blue, ice blue, boundless blue, shadow blue, red alert
Media Affiliates	KONG KING-TV Amazon Prime KJR FM 93.3 KJR AM 950
Owner	Seattle Hockey Partners
General Manager	Jason Botterill
Head Coach	Lane Lambert
Captain	Jordan Eberle
Minor League Affiliates	Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL)
Stanley Cups	0
Conf Titles	0
Division Titles	0
Website	nhl.com/kraken

The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The team was founded after the NHL approved a proposal by Seattle Hockey Partners to grant an expansion franchise to the city of Seattle and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. They play their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.

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 first expansion team to win their first playoff series over the defending Stanley Cup champion. However, they lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round, ending their second season. During the 2023–24 season, the team struggled offensively, scoring only 217 goals and achieving only 81 points. This caused the Kraken to fire head coach Dave Hakstol and hire Dan Bylsma. However, during the 2024–25 season, they did worse, achieving only 76 points. Following the season, the Kraken once again fired their head coach, parting ways with Bylsma and hiring Lane Lambert. The team also replaced general manager Ron Francis with Jason Botterill, making Francis the Kraken's president of hockey operations.

History

Prior to establishment

The Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup.

Professional ice hockey in Seattle dates to the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Seattle Metropolitans in 1915. Even though 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. A plan was made where 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.

Establishment (2017–2021)

Ice hockey in Seattle#Seattle Kraken (2018–present)
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.

alt=The word "Seattle" written in a red, calligraphic font

Exactly a year after the memorandum of understanding, the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the addition of a Seattle expansion team to the league. In mid-2019, the organization hired Ron Francis as their general manager to initiate operations for the team. Francis later stated that three things he wanted to prioritize in the Kraken's roster were speed, character, and competitiveness. In July 2020, the franchise announced their team name—the Seattle Kraken—as well as their team colors, branding, and home jersey.

On April 30, 2021, the franchise paid the final installment of the million expansion fee, officially making the Seattle Kraken the 32nd team of the NHL. The Kraken signed their first player, Luke Henman, on May 12. More than a month later, the organization hired Dave Hakstol as their inaugural head coach. On July 19, a three-day period began during which the Kraken could talk to unrestricted free agents before any other team could. The Kraken used this period to sign Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Chris Driedger. An expansion draft was held three days later at Gas Works Park in front of more than 4,000 spectators and fans. The draft was held 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. Larsson, Oleksiak, and Driedger counted as the pick from their former teams (Edmonton, Dallas, and Florida, respectively). Two days later, the first round of the 2021 NHL entry draft took place. The Kraken used their second-overall pick to select Matty Beniers, a center from the University of Michigan. The previous season, Beniers had scored 24 points throughout 24 games, and his 10 goals ranked first among goals for first-time draft-eligible NCAA players.

First seasons (since 2021)

The Kraken started their inaugural free agency on July 28, 2021, signing forwards Alexander Wennberg and Jaden Schwartz, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer. On October 11, the Kraken named Mark Giordano as the team's inaugural captain. The team also named four alternate captains: Adam Larsson, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, and Jaden Schwartz. The Kraken played their first regular season game the next day, a 4–3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, in which Ryan Donato scored the first goal in team history. The franchise's first win came in their next game two days later, when they defeated the Nashville Predators 4–3. The Kraken played their first home game at Climate Pledge Arena (formerly KeyArena) on October 23, a 4–2 loss to the division rival Vancouver Canucks. Prior to the game, the team retired jersey number 32, in recognition of the franchise 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. The team picked up their first home win on October 26, against the Montreal Canadiens. On February 2, 2022, Grubauer recorded the franchise's first shutout, making 19 saves in a 3–0 victory against the New York Islanders. On March 20, the Kraken's captaincy became vacant after Giordano was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team was eliminated from playoff contention on March 30 following a 3–0 loss to the Golden Knights. The Kraken finished their inaugural season in last place of the Pacific Division with a record of 27–49–6. Only the Arizona Coyotes finished with fewer points (57) in the Western Conference that season.

Matty Beniers, the first-ever draft pick of the Kraken, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year at the end of the 2022–23 season.

The Kraken improved significantly in their second season. During the offseason, the team signed goaltender Martin Jones to a one-year contract. In January 2023, Jones backstopped the Kraken through seven games of an eight-game win streak. While doing so, the franchise became the first team to win all seven games of a seven-game road trip. Eventually, the Kraken clinched their first playoff berth, qualifying for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. The team's record of 46–28–8 and 100 points placed the team fourth in the Pacific Division, thus achieving the first wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference. On April 30, the Kraken defeated the Colorado Avalanche in the opening best-of-seven playoff series, becoming the first expansion team in NHL history to win their first playoff series against the defending Stanley Cup champion. The team's playoff run came to an end after the second round where they lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games. On June 26, at the NHL awards ceremony, Matty Beniers was named the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy for being the NHL rookie of the year.

The Kraken struggled offensively in their third season, ranking 29th in the league in goals, with only 217. In December and January, following an eight-game losing streak, goaltender Joey Daccord started in eight out of nine games of a franchise record nine-game win streak. In the midst of the streak, Daccord started in goal for the Kraken during the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, where he achieved the first-ever shutout in NHL Winter Classic history with a 3–0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. The team was eliminated from playoff contention on April 3, following a 5–2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kraken finished their season with a 34–35–13 record, enough for sixth place in their division. On April 29, following the end of the season, head coach Dave Hakstol was fired, being replaced by Dan Bylsma on May 28.

In July 2024, the team hired Jessica Campbell as the NHL's first female coach. In September that year, the team promoted Justin Rogers to the role of head trainer, which made him the first openly gay man to be a head trainer in the NHL. In October, the Kraken named Jordan Eberle the second captain in franchise history. During their fourth season the Kraken missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season with a 35–41–6 record, finishing seventh in their division. On April 21, following the end of the season, head coach Dan Bylsma was fired after one season with the team. A day later the team announced that general manager Ron Francis was being promoted to president of hockey operations and that the team had hired Jason Botterill to take over as general manager; Botterill had previously been the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. The team hired Lane Lambert as their third head coach on May 29.

Arena

The Kraken play their home games at Climate Pledge Arena. The arena, at the Seattle Center, is a renovation of the former KeyArena. On June 25, 2020, Amazon bought the naming rights to KeyArena and renamed the venue due to their environmental goals. The venue has 17,151 seats in its ice hockey configuration. Vince Dunn scored the first Kraken goal in the arena's history on October 23, 2021. The Kraken's first shutout win at home was a 3–0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on April 29, 2022, the final home game of their inaugural season.

Exterior view of the Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate, the team's training facility

The team's primary practice facility, named the Kraken Community Iceplex, is located at Northgate Station (formerly Northgate Mall) and was opened in September 2021. The facility has three rinks and is open to the public. In 2024, a second community ice rink was proposed for a former park and ride lot in Kirkland on the Eastside. Throughout 2025, deals were negotiated between the city and the Kraken pertaining to the construction of the facility, and in December, Kirkland's City Manager was directed to proceed with a negotiated deal.

The Kraken's three home preseason games prior to the 2021–22 season were held at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, and the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent: arenas home to Western Hockey League (WHL) teams, in an event known as the 3-Rink Rush, due to delays in the renovation of Climate Pledge Arena.

Arena entertainment

The Kraken's goal horn is from the ferry boat MV Hyak. The team plays the Nirvana song "Lithium" after every Kraken goal at home; the song was chosen due to Nirvana's importance to Seattle grunge culture.

Starting with their first win at home against the Montreal Canadiens on October 26, 2021, the Kraken feature a unique 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 throw a plush toy salmon into the crowd to mimic Seattle's Pike Place Market fish toss and to honor the significance of wild-caught salmon to the state of Washington.

Rod Masters, the organist from the 1977 film Slap Shot, became the organist for the Kraken starting with the team's January 1, 2022, home game against the New York Islanders. As Climate Pledge Arena does not have an organ, Masters played music using electronic keyboards. Masters retired after the 2021–22 season, and the Kraken hired 29-year-old Ben Wooley, who is still the team's organist.

Team identity

Logo and uniforms

On July 23, 2020, the team held an event to reveal their team branding. The franchise's promotional materials state that the team's "Kraken" name was adopted to honor the maritime culture of Seattle. The Pacific Northwest region also has a history of Scandinavian immigrants and ancestry, further connecting Seattle to the Nordic origin of the "Kraken" mythology. The colors chosen for the team's logo were ice blue, boundless blue, shadow blue and red alert. The team's logo furthermore also contains a red eye and a tentacle. For the team's jerseys, deep sea blue served as the base color with the logo's colors as accent colors. The first time players were seen wearing Kraken uniforms was at the 2021 NHL expansion draft.

On October 20, 2022, the Kraken unveiled their "Reverse Retro" uniform for the 2022–23 season, featuring an ice blue base with deep sea blue striping. The design was a callback to the Seattle Ironmen, a defunct Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) team that existed in the 1940s.

For the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, the Kraken wore a uniform inspired by the Seattle Metropolitans, a former Stanley Cup-competing team which won the championship in 1917. The deep sea blue uniform features a red "S" similar to the Metropolitans' crest, but shaped to the current "S" logo of the Kraken, with the team name written inside. Ice blue, vintage white and deep sea blue stripes were added to the body and sleeves. The uniform was officially unveiled on November 22, 2023, but was leaked four days earlier when players from the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz walked into their home arena wearing it.

On September 4, 2025, the Kraken unveiled their first alternate uniform. The black-based set featured glow-in-the-dark elements as a nod to bioluminescence, along with sonar-inspired stripes on the sleeves and socks, and a glow-in-the-dark Muckleshoot Indian Tribe patch. Both the Kraken logo and numbers are in black with glow-in-the-dark trim.

Mascot

Buoy (mascot)
Buoy, a sea troll, is the Kraken's mascot. He is a reference to and is based on the Fremont Troll, a sculpture in Fremont. Buoy was introduced prior to a preseason home game against the Vancouver Canucks on October 1, 2022. The Kraken had intended to introduce Buoy around Christmas during the 2021–22 season, but due to game postponements related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the team decided to wait until prior to the 2022–23 season instead.

During the 2021–22 season, in the absence of an official mascot, the Kraken promoted a "team dog" named Davy Jones. The dog, a four-month-old husky mix rescue dog introduced on January 17, 2022, socialized with fans at home games as he trained to be a therapy dog.

Broadcasting

List of Seattle Kraken broadcasters

Television

John Forslund has been the Kraken's play-by-play announcer for all of the team's seasons.

Kraken games are televised through the Kraken Hockey Network (KHN), which includes over-the-air television stations in Seattle (KING-TV and KONG), Spokane (KREM and KSKN), and Yakima (KAPP and KVEW), Washington; Eugene (KEVU and KLSR-TV) and Portland (KGW), Oregon; Anchorage (KAUU) and Juneau (KYEX-LD), Alaska; and Boise (KTVB) and Twin Falls (KTFT), Idaho. Games can also be streamed locally on Amazon Prime Video. Games were televised regionally on Root Sports Northwest for the team's first three seasons.

Former Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund is the Kraken's television play-by-play announcer, and J. T. Brown is the team's primary television color commentator. In August 2022, the team hired Eddie Olczyk to be a television analyst alongside Forslund and Brown.

The television broadcast for the Kraken's February 17, 2022, game against the Winnipeg Jets featured Everett Fitzhugh as play-by-play announcer and Brown as color commentator, making up the first all-Black broadcast duo in NHL history.

Radio

Kraken games are broadcast on KJR-FM 93.3 and KJR 950 AM, the flagship stations of the Kraken Audio Network. During a schedule conflict, some games may be heard on 96.5 KJAQ. The Kraken Audio Network also includes several other stations outside Seattle.

Everett Fitzhugh serves as the team's primary radio play-by-play announcer. He is the first Black full-time play-by-play announcer in NHL history. Former NHL player and Vancouver Canucks broadcaster Dave Tomlinson served as Fitzhugh's color commentator before resigning in August 2023 to take a new broadcasting job in Canada. The Kraken then hired former Seattle Thunderbirds forward and Everett Silvertips commentator Al Kinisky to replace him. Mike Benton is the studio host for all radio broadcasts, serving pre-game, intermission, and post-game coverage.

Minor league affiliates

As is standard practice for NHL teams, the Kraken maintain affiliations with minor league teams for player development. The Kraken's primary affiliate plays in the American Hockey League (AHL), which feeds directly into the NHL. The team also has an affiliate in the ECHL, which exists a tier below in the development system.

American Hockey League

The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the Kraken, are based in Thousand Palms, California. After the Kraken were approved into the NHL by the Board of Governors, the team's ownership group began making plans to acquire a minor league affiliate in the AHL. By early 2019, they had narrowed it down to promoting the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team near Palm Springs, California. On June 26, 2019, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for Seattle's AHL affiliate. The expansion franchise was approved by the AHL Board of Governors on September 30, 2019, with plans to begin play in the 2021–22 season. Delays associated with the construction of an arena in the Palm Springs area caused the team's debut to be pushed back to the 2022–23 season. On November 5, 2021, the new team revealed its name, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as well as its logos and colors, at a ceremony held on the construction site of their new arena.

As the Firebirds were not ready for the 2021–22 season, Seattle affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers, sharing the team with the Florida Panthers. After clinching their division, the Checkers advanced to the division finals of the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs, where they lost to the Springfield Thunderbirds.

During their inaugural 2022–23 season, pending construction of their arena, the Firebirds started a series of games in Seattle and Everett, playing games against the Abbotsford Canucks and the Calgary Wranglers at the Iceplex as well as Climate Pledge Arena and Angel of the Winds Arena in October 2022. Two of the four games were played at the Iceplex, the first resulting in a 4–3 loss to the Canucks and the second a 5–3 win over the Wranglers. The Firebirds' arena, named Acrisure Arena, was completed on December 14. Over both that season and the next, the Firebirds went on to reach the Calder Cup finals.

ECHL

For their inaugural season, the Kraken's ECHL affiliate was the Texas-based Allen Americans. They were replaced by the Kansas City Mavericks in that capacity, starting from the 2022–23 season.

Season-by-season record

List of Seattle Kraken seasons
This is a list of the seasons completed by the Kraken.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2021–22	82	27	49	6	60	216	285	8th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2022–23	82	46	28	8	100	289	256	4th, Pacific	Lost in second round, 3–4 (Stars)
2023–24	82	34	35	13	81	217	236	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2024–25	82	35	41	6	76	247	265	7th, Pacific	Did not qualify

Players and personnel

List of Seattle Kraken players

Current roster

Owners

The Kraken are owned by Seattle Hockey Partners, an organization led by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tod Leiweke, and Samantha Holloway, daughter of original team founder David Bonderman. Other members of the ownership group include Adrian Hanauer (the majority owner of Seattle Sounders FC), Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and Tim Leiweke. In 2022, former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch and rapper Macklemore joined the partnership as minority owners.

Head coaches

List of Seattle Kraken head coaches

Dave Hakstol, 2021–2024
Dan Bylsma, 2024–2025
Lane Lambert, since 2025

General managers

List of Seattle Kraken general managers

Ron Francis, 2019–2025
Jason Botterill, since 2025

Other personnel

Ron Francis, since 2025, president of hockey operations

Team captains

Mark Giordano, 2021–2022
Jordan Eberle, 2024–present

Retired numbers

32 was retired on October 23, 2021, to honor the fans for 32,000 ticket deposits in one day and for being the NHL's newest32ndteam.
99 was retired by the NHL for all its member teams in honor of Wayne Gretzky at the 2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game.

Team and league awards

List of Seattle Kraken award winners

League awards

Matty Beniers won the Calder Memorial Trophy at the end of the Kraken's second season after leading all rookies in points, with 57, and tying for the lead in goals among rookies, with 24.

Calder Memorial Trophy

2022–23: Matty Beniers

Team awards

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 the Game ceremony 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 "perseverance, hustle, and dedication" as voted upon by their teammates and coaches. The Fan Favorite Award goes to a player who wins a fan vote.

Franchise records

List of Seattle Kraken records

Scoring leaders

Jared McCann leads the Kraken all-time in goals and points.

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

Jared McCann*	C	315	118	125	243	.77
Vince Dunn*	D	275	43	141	184	.67
Jordan Eberle*	RW	281	67	110	177	.63
Yanni Gourde	C	271	52	94	146	.54
Matty Beniers*	C	249	62	84	146	.59
Jaden Schwartz*	LW	251	68	74	142	.57
Oliver Bjorkstrand	RW	224	56	85	141	.63
Adam Larsson*	D	327	27	77	104	.32
Eeli Tolvanen*	RW	210	55	48	103	.49
Alexander Wennberg	C	222	33	67	100	.45

Player	Pos	G
Jared McCann*	C	118
Jaden Schwartz*	LW	68
Jordan Eberle*	RW	67
Matty Beniers	C	62
Oliver Bjorkstrand	RW	56
Eeli Tolvanen*	RW	55
Yanni Gourde	C	52
Vince Dunn*	D	43
Brandon Tanev	LW	41
Alexander Wennberg	C	33

Player	Pos	A
Vince Dunn*	D	141
Jared McCann*	C	125
Jordan Eberle*	RW	110
Yanni Gourde	C	94
Oliver Bjorkstrand	RW	85
Matty Beniers*	C	84
Adam Larsson*	D	77
Jaden Schwartz*	LW	74
Alexander Wennberg	C	67
Andre Burakovsky	LW	62

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