The NHL Needs to Come to Seattle

Will Seattle get an NHL team soon with a new arena deal in the works? If so, what should we call it?

Rumor has it, Seattle wants a new arena.

I sat on my couch the other night watching the Anaheim Ducks beat the Calgary Flames in an exciting Stanley Cup Playoff game. The whole game I thought “Man, how awesome would the fans in Seattle be for an NHL playoff game?”

I believe Seattle would be one of the best hockey towns west of the Mississippi. With how close Seattle is to Canada and how this region has embraced the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team of the Western Hockey League, this would be a great city for a National Hockey League team.

After the April 12th deadline for proposals for a new arena, either in SoDo or the KeyArena site, it looks as if the KeyArena site has the lead at this point. The groups involved in KeyArena renovation also look to make the arena not a music-only venue but invest enough to bring at least one team to the city, ideally two.

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We all know we want the Supersonics back on the hardwood. However,  let’s keep an open mind about the NHL coming to town first.

First of all, the NHL is already adding a team in Las Vegas. That puts the league at 31 teams. None of the four major American sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL) have an odd number of teams in their respective leagues. Also, to this point, the NHL has had 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and only 14 in the West (it will be an odd 15 with the addition of Las Vegas). Wouldn’t it make sense to add another team that would fit in the Western Conference so the conferences are balanced?

The NHL seems likely to expand, with or without Seattle. Getting an NHL team here first would increase the excitement for a possible NBA team. Frankly, it’s a joke that Emerald City doesn’t have a major winter sport.

Imagine the fun rivalry a hometown NHL team would have with the Vancouver Canucks. If you have not been to a Seattle T-Birds game at the ShoWare Center, you are missing out. Seattle does love hockey.

If Seattle Gets an NHL Team, What Should it be Called?

Let’s have some fun with this. If an NHL team does come here (right now the projected start would be the 2020-2021 winter season), what should the team be called? I gave people four options on  Twitter with some fun feedback, including a suggestion that they be called the “Seattle Sasquatch.”

Here are the results of the poll:

The Seattle Metropolitans were actually a professional hockey team at one point. Did you know that the city actually has a Stanley Cup championship? In 1917, the Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association became the first American hockey team to win the prized silver cup.

Seattle has a hockey history. It’s time to embrace it again.

Which name do you like? The Pilots would be a nod to the 1969 Major League Baseball team that eventually became the Milwauee Brewers.

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The Emeralds would of course be due to the fact that the team would play in the beautiful Emerald City.

The Steelheads is another nod to the region as the Steelhead trout are popular in the Puget Sound area.

Whatever the name, let’s get an NHL team to Seattle. The Emerald City deserves one.