The NHL is preparing to release the Kraken. The Seattle Kraken will join the NHL as an expansion franchise in time for the 2021-22 regular season. The move will give the NHL an even number of teams, as Seattle will be the 32nd franchise to join the league and the first new club since the birth of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. The Kraken will be stocked via an expansion draft this summer.
NHL’s 32nd Team: Seattle Kraken
- The Seattle Kraken will join the NHL as an expansion franchise
- Stocked by an expansion draft this summer, the Kraken will be the NHL’s 32nd team
- The Seattle Metropolitans were the first American-based team to win the Stanley Cup in 1916-17
The Seattle Kraken officially became an NHL franchise on April 30, 2021. That was the day that the owners of the franchise made the final payment of their $650 million expansion fee. The Kraken, nicknamed after a mythical sea creature, made its name official in July of 2020, debuting a colour scheme of icy blue and navy blue with red accents.
The Kraken will play in the Pacific Division of the NHL’s Western Conference, along with the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights. The Arizona Coyotes will be moved to the Central Division in order to make room for the Kraken.
The home rink for the Kraken is the Climate Pledge Arena, where the capacity for hockey is 17,100 and the pledge is to become the first International Living Future Institute certified zero carbon arena in the world.
Seattle recently signed its first player. They agreed to terms with free-agent centre Luke Henman on a three-year entry-level contract.
How Will The Kraken Be Stocked?
The Kraken will begin the process of assembling a squad during the NHL Expansion Draft to be held on July 21. Seattle will select players from 30 of the 31 NHL teams. Vegas, which only joined the NHL itself in time for the 2017-18 season, will be exempt from the process.
Each of the other 30 NHL clubs must submit a list of protected players prior to the draft. These lists can be composed in two manners. They can opt to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender, or they can choose to go with a list including a goaltender and any combination of eight skaters (forwards and defensemen).
All of the teams are required to expose to the expansion draft pool a minimum of two forwards and one defenceman who played at least 40 games during the 2020-21 NHL season or at least a combined 70 games over the past two seasons. They must also expose a goaltender who is under contract for 2021-22 or who becomes a restricted free agent in 2021. If a team chooses the latter option, the goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team’s protected list.
All players on existing teams with no-movement clauses at the time of the draft, and who decline to waive those clauses, must be protected and will be counted toward their team’s applicable protection limits. All first- and second-year professionals, and all unsigned draft choices will be exempt from selection and will not be counted toward protection limits.
The Kraken must select at least 20 players that are under contract for 2021-22. They must also pick a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. The 20 players selected must have a combined contract value that is between 60-100 percent of the prior season’s upper limit for the salary cap. The Kraken cannot buy out players chosen in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following the team’s first season in the league.
Who’s In Charge?
Ron Francis, a Hall of Fame centre who won two Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a player, is the general manager of the Kraken.
The team currently does not have a coach in place, but there are several leading candidates who are free agents. These include Bruce Boudreau, Claude Julien, a Stanley Cup winner with the Boston Bruins and Gerard Gallant, who guided Vegas to the Stanley Cup final as a first-year expansion club in 2017-18.
Seattle’s Hockey Heritage
Even though this is the first time Seattle will have an NHL franchise, the city has already won the Stanley Cup. The Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association defeated the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association in the 1916-17 Stanley Cup final.
Seattle also played in the 1918-19 and 1919-20 Stanley Cup finals against NHL teams. The primary logo of the Kraken features a stylized S similar to the one that adorned the jerseys of the Metropolitans
As well, there’s a long history of minor pro and junior hockey in the city.
Where To Bet On The Seattle Kraken
There are a number of leading online sports betting sites that will provide bettors with the chance to place a wager on the NHL games of the Seattle Kraken. The best bet you can make is to shop around in advance and seek out the right deal before joining one of these sportsbooks. Check out Sports Interaction and PowerPlay Sports as examples.
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