NHL Seattle’s name to be announced

SEATTLE — After years of speculation, NHL Seattle seems poised to finally announce a team name.

Though no one from the team will officially confirm anything, the team said a 9 a.m. live-streamed news conference scheduled for Thursday is for a “significant” event. The team announced the news conference on its Twitter feed, stating it’s when: “The 32nd franchise will come to life.”

Other than hiring a head coach — which likely won’t happen at least until after the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs that begin next week — the name is the most major event looming on the team’s todo list. The team is set to open play at a revamped Climate Pledge Arena — formerly KeyArena — in October 2021.

NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, has previously said the team would also likely announce its logo and uniform colors at the same time the name is unveiled. Worth noting on that front will be whether the team sticks with typical blue and green Seattle colors or goes in a completely different direction like red and white.

Speculation about the name has run rampant since even before the franchise was officially awarded in December 2018.

Among the more controversial names, the “Kraken” has generated some of the biggest online buzz among fans both loving and hating it. The fictitious sea creature, used in some of NHL Seattle team owner Jerry Bruckheimer’s movies, doesn’t quite fit the franchise’s regional representation efforts when it comes to a name — even though this is a coastal state and we do have squid, octopus and other similar sea animals living in the adjacent ocean.

Seattle Times readers chose the name “Sockeyes” in a weeks-long polling contest two years ago.