The “overwhelming vibe” from fans concerning the announcement that Kraken would be the Seattle NHL team’s name was “one of positivity,” according to Ryan Dixon of SPORTSNET.ca. If the reaction on Twitter “is a reliable representation of how the hockey world feels about the unveiling, the Kraken already have their first win” (SPORTSNET.ca, 7/23). In Seattle, Geoff Baker wrote the naming announcement, "as expected, lit up social media." The "term 'Krak Heads' immediately began trending on Twitter in reference to fans of the team, who expressed both anger and support for that designation." The team's under-renovation arena was "dubbed the 'Krak House' in myriad social media posts" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/24). ESPN's Emily Kaplan noted that the team considered the name Metropolitans. However, Kraken minority Owner Andy Jassy said that that choice was "met with 'reticence' by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who didn't want to change the name of the NHL's Metropolitan Division" (ESPN.com, 7/24).
CREATING A UNIQUE LEGACY: THE RINGER's Rodger Sherman wrote Seattle "decided not to go with the boring route," picking a name "no other pro sports team has ever used, or for that matter likely ever considered." A name should make fans "feel like they’re part of something unique, and that they should be proud to be a part of it." The Kraken "proves that a team name can be distinctive without being gimmicky" (THERINGER.com, 7/23). In Toronto, Damien Cox writes the name is “imaginative and fun and, gosh, isn’t that all a team nickname needs to be?” Teams just need a "colourful nickname that fits on a coffee mug and a baseball cap, helps creative people generate some good graphics and videos for the game ops folks and produces a good cheer in support of the home team.” Whether the Kraken nickname “actually has anything at all to do with the city of Seattle … no longer matters.” Cox: “It’s really about an edgy nickname and an exciting logo a team can sell, nothing more. It’s about money” (TORONTO STAR, 7/24).
GOING ALL IN WITH LOGO: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ryan Kennedy noted the Kraken’s primary logo is a stylized "S" which features a "tentacle in the negative space, bevelling to signify the city’s maritime history and a menacing red eye." Keeping the "mystery of the Kraken itself was important to the team." Going with a "big ‘S’ as the crest also makes a nod to the old Seattle Metropolitans, the first-ever American team to win the Stanley Cup" in 1917. Perhaps "most intriguing about the uniform is the fact the dark version does not feature any white whatsoever; instead, the deep blue base is accented by several other shades, including a very pale 'ice blue'" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 7/23). THE ATHLETIC's Ryan Clark wrote perhaps the two "most subtle yet talked about aspects of the logo were the red eye and tentacle within the 'S.'" The red eye at the top is "intended to provide a fierce look of a kraken waiting to strike, while its rising tentacle is meant to serve as a warning for what lies ahead." The goal was for the logo to be "something that withstood the test of time whether fans looked back on the design five years or 50 years down the line, while also maintaining that trio of objectives" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/23).
TRYING TO STAND OUT: NHL Seattle minority Owner Mitch Garber, who is a member of the team exec committee, said that the team "went through 'a lot of iterations' with Adidas before settling on the color scheme." Garber: “The colors are quite unique. You’ll see a bit of the Mariners and a bit of the Seahawks. There are no teams in the NHL -- I think Edmonton has one jersey that has this type of blue in it -- that have this as their main colors." He said the team "did go through many colors that were totally foreign to Seattle sports" before deciding (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/24).
GOING BOLD, BUT GIMMICKY: In Seattle, Larry Stone writes of team execs, "They went big. They went bold. They didn’t take the safe route, which would have been the Steelheads, Sockeyes or Metropolitans." However, the Kraken name will "inspire great scorn from those who feel like it’s a gimmick akin to naming your minor-league baseball team the Yard Goats, Rumble Ponies or Iron Pigs." They "knew a backlash of some sort was inevitable, and forged ahead anyway." Stone: "Daring, fearlessness, the courage of one’s convictions -- those are the sort of qualities that bode well for an expansion franchise that can’t afford to be risk averse as it tries to make its mark in the NHL." Still, Stone writes, "That doesn’t mean I have to like the name, however. It just seems, well, silly to me" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/24).
