Seattle Is Getting A Hockey Team!!

So just 1 yr after the Las Vegas Golden Knights went on their cinderella run in their inaugural season as a NHL franchise, the NHL has announced today that it will be adding a 32nd team to the league. The chosen city is Seattle. Seattle has been in the hunt for a NHL franchise for quite sometime, as well as the hopeful return of the their NBA team. Well they finally struck some luck and starting in the 2021-22 season the city of Seattle will host NHL hockey for the first time since 1924. Yep, almost 100 years since professional hockey was last played in Seattle. Little do people know but the Seattle Metropolitans were the first hockey team from the US to win a Stanley cup. They did so in 1917, but the franchise would fold just 7 years later in 1924.  

So this deal has been rumored for the past few months and all signs were pointing towards Seattle being the next city selected. The city council of Seattle also recently approved a $700 million renovation of the former Seattle Supersonic’s home, Key arena. Which for $700 million it sounds like you should be getting an entirely new arena not just renovating an arena built in 1962. The ownership group for this new team is lead by billionaire investment banker, David Bonderman and this group will also be paying a $650 million dollar expansion fee to become part of the league. 

Planned renovation for Key Arena

Photo Credit: Seattle Times

Planned renovations for Key Arena

Photo Credit: Seattle Met

With the addition of Seattle, the league will shift some Western Conference teams around and all 4 divisions in both the East and West will have 8 teams. Will we see any future additions? At 32 the NHL will be tied with the NFL as the only other North American franchise with 32 teams. The the other cities vying for a team were Houston and Quebec City. I personally don’t see any more additions because at a certain point it’s too many teams and you’re diluting the talent pool too much. What  I can see happening though is relocation. Several teams such as the Carolina, Ottawa, Arizona and Florida, I could see potentially locating. We are probably years from any of those coming to fruition but for the time being this latest edition has the NHL set with a perfect 32 teams split evenly among 4 divisions. NHL is on the up and up and is only becoming a stronger sport throughout the US as markets not thought of as a hockey market taking hold of the sport. I’m really looking forward to see how much the city of Seattle gets behind this team as well as the name and jerseys they decide to go with.

Also, if this ownership knows what’s good for them they somehow incorporate the original Seattle Metropolitans jersey design into this team whether it’s a throwback or even their alternate jersey, because it is something else.

Photo Credit: Ebbets