In 2021, the NHL added a new team to their roster – here is what we know about them.

The NHL hasn’t added a new team to the tournament since 2016, so a few of us were shocked to hear the announcement that the Seattle Krakens would be joining this year. 

Keep reading if you want to get to know the new team more. 

Who are the Seattle Krakens? 

The Seattle Krakens are the newest members of the NHL. They are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle Washington. 

The ice hockey federation in Seattle was given permission to create an NHL hockey team in 2018. The team played its first game in September 2021. The team was going to start earlier but the Coronavirus pandemic delayed the launch of the team. 

The Seattle Krakens are the 32nd team in the NHL. They play in the Pacific Division with the following teams: 

• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks
• Vegas Golden Knights

What other Hockey teams have Seattle had? 

There have been two ice hockey teams that were based in Seattle before the Krakens. 

The city’s first team to compete for the Stanley Cup was the Seattle Metropolitans. They actually won the Stanley Cup in 1917. There is a banner in the Kraken’s ice rink commemorating this team. The Metropolitans folded in 1924.

Seattle’s second ice hockey team was the Seattle Totems. This team played in Seattle from 1958 to 1975. They also folded. 

They are the first professional ice hockey team to play in Seattle in 46 years. 

Have they retired any numbers? 

Despite only having been a team since September the Seattle Krakens have already retired two numbers. 

The entire NHL has retired the number 99. This is in tribute to the career of Wayne Gretzky – who is believed to be the greatest ice hockey player of all time. This number was retired from the NHL at the 2000 All-Stars game. 

In honor of being the 32nd team to join the NHL, the Krakens put 32,000 tickets on sale. They all sold on the first day. To say thank you to the fans, at their first game they retired the number 32 jersey. 

Who is the head coach of the Krakens? 

The Seattle Krakens’ head coach is David Hakstol. 

David Hakstol is a Canadian hockey team manager who in his career has coached teams in both the NCAA and in the NHL. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But he had previously been the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and at the University of North Dakota. 

Hakstol said he is excited at the challenge of building a new team from the ground up. 

David Hakstol is the first official head coach of the franchise.  

Who is the Captain of the Krakens? 

Mark Giordano is the captain of the Seattle Krakens. 

Giordano is a Canadian player who had been playing for the Calgary Flames since 2006 after going undrafted in 2004. Giordano plays for the Canadian national team and is known in the NHL for his charitable contributions. 

During the NHL expansion draft in 2021, Giordano was selected by the Karkens -this meant that he had to leave the flames to join the team. At 38, Giordano is the oldest player on the team by over 8 years. It was no surprise to anyone that he was named the captain of the team. 

He is an impressive all-around player and has often been praised for his leadership skills on and off the ice. 

Giordano is the first official captain of the franchise. 

Where do the Krakens play? 

The Krakens are based in the city of Seattle, Washington. 

They play in the Climate Pledge Arena (formally known as the Seattle Center). The arena is owned by Amazon who intends to turn the building into the world’s first carbon neutral arena. 

They share the arena with both of Seattle’s basketball teams – the Seattle Storm and the Seattle RedHawks, they also share the space with Seattle’s roller derby team.   

Did they win their first match? 

The Krakens played their first game in the NHL pre-season on September 27th. They played against the Vancouver Canucks. The Krakens won that game 5-3. They played 5 more games in the pre-season (they played against the Oilers twice, twice against the Flames, and a second game against the Canucks) and won them all. 

Their first official match in the NHL was against the Vegas Golden Knights. Sadly, the Krakens were beaten 2-3 by the knights. This match happened on October 13th. Since then the Krakens have had mixed results throughout the season.  

Want to bet on the Krakens’ future matches? You can find Fanduel’s NHL betting odds here.