On December 4, 2018, the NHL Board of Governors approved Seattle to host the NHL’s newest expansion team. The team still doesn’t have a name, but its home arena finally does.
The formerly known Seattle Center Coliseum or Key Arena, has hosted a number of events, most notably Seattle SuperSonics home games. However, it has also played host to NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball tournament games.
The remodeling of the Arena started back in December 2018 and is estimated to cost between $825 and $850 million dollars.
This past Thursday, Amazon bought the naming rights to the arena and named it Climate Pledge Arena. Climate Pledge is the name of the $2 billion initiative Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos announced last year. The basic goal of this initiative is for Amazon to become Net Carbon Neutral by 2040.
Even though they were going to announce the team’s name during the All-Star Break this past January, Seattle still lacks one. There are currently two favorites to be the Seattle franchise’s new mascot: the Totems and the Kraken. While the Kraken is a fan favorite, the Totems look like they have the edge for the team name because of their history.
Back in the 1940s, the Seattle Totems played in the Western Hockey League; however, in 1975, the minor league dissolved and Seattle found itself without a hockey team once again.
The team has no head coach and no players, but they do have former Carolina Hurricanes general manager, Ron Francis.
With the current circumstances, many are skeptical as to whether or not the Seattle team will be able to start play in 2021, but as of right now, it will be their inaugural season.
