Release the Kraken! Seattle unveils name, logo for expansion franchise

[July 24, 2020]    (Reuters) - Seattle's new NHL team released its name - the Kraken - on Thursday, announcing that the huge mythical sea beast would represent the NHL's 32nd franchise.

The Seattle Kraken are expected to take the ice in Washington starting in the 2021-22 season, after the expansion franchise was approved by unanimous vote in December 2018.

"We’ve spent two years listening. Every day for the past two years we’ve thought about this moment," CEO Tod Leiweke said at the announcement inside Climate Pledge Arena, which is under construction.

The top two names voted by readers in a 2018 Seattle Times poll were the Sockeyes and the Totems.

The NHL season is resuming on Aug. 1 after the coronavirus outbreak halted it in March, with expanded 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs taking place in Edmonton and Toronto without fans.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Ed Osmond)

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