NHL Thanksgiving: In a weird year, we are most thankful for the Seattle Kraken

We should all be thankful for the Seattle Kraken today.

It is of course Thanksgiving today so we are all highlighting things we are thankful for and, as a hockey site, the Seattle Kraken make our list.

While 2020 will go down as one of the strangest and toughest years in history due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there were some highlights from a hockey point of view this year.

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From the Tampa Bay Lightning finally slaying their postseason demons to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes duking it out for the Calder Trophy to David Pastrnak emerging as a potential new scoring rival for Alex Ovechkin, there were a plethora of compelling storylines to keep an eye on throughout 2019-20.

However, the real highlight of this year was the Seattle franchise finally giving what so many of us had wanted for so long…

Unleash the Kraken!

Yes, after much speculating and much waiting, the NHL’s 32nd franchise revealed their identity and their team name back in July, and it was spectacular.

Listening to the masses, the Seattle ownership fully embraced the roots of their city and heritage and went all in on the mythical beast and colors of the deep blue sea, honoring Seattle’s rich maritime history.

Opting for a deep blue sea primary color and secondary colors made up of ice blue, shadow blue, boundless blue and red alert, the primary logo is also very striking and the home and road uniforms look absolutely beautiful too.

Overall, the Seattle ownership hit it out of the park with the branding of the Kraken, a name they can have a lot of fun with when it comes to marketing and merchandising.

I mean, with legendary film director Jeremy Bruckheimer part of the ownership group, just imagine the pregame shows the Kraken can stage around their name, with the mythical creature striking fear into its prey before pouncing.

Seattle will be hoping they have the same type of impact on their opponents on the ice, and they can certainly gain an advantage prior to puck drop by putting on some wild pregame shows based around the mighty sea beast.

We saw how hugely popular and intimidating the Vegas Golden Knights were on home ice thanks to their elaborate in-arena entertainment, and the Seattle Kraken can certainly pull off something similar.

With that striking “S” logo, which pays homage to the Seattle Metropolitans, complete with a red eye and a tentacle, the Seattle Kraken players will stand out on the ice and they will be a welcome addition to the NHL.

We’ve seen how vibrant and how passionate a sports market is in Seattle thanks to the Seahawks and the Storm in the WNBA, not forgetting the Mariners and the Sounders of course, and there is no doubt that the Kraken will be a success too.

They will have a chance to build a winner in the 2021 Expansion Draft and could take advantage of many teams struggling with the flat cap in Free Agency, enabling them to potentially enjoy the same level of success the Vegas Golden Knights did after entering the league.

However, no matter what happens during their inaugural year in 2021-22, it was about time that Seattle was given an NHL franchise and we are incredibly thankful on Thanksgiving that 2020 was the year the Kraken was finally released.

Bring on 2021-22.