Meet the Vancouver Canucks Newest Rival, the Seattle Kraken

Throughout 50 years of hockey, the Vancouver Canucks have never had a legitimate geographic rival.

When we went through this exercise to recently to figure out who the Canucks biggest rival was, we came up with the Calgary Flames.

Well, it might be time for Calgary to move aside, because things are about to get Kraken in Seattle.

After nearly two years of speculation on what the team name might be, Seattle ended up going with the most divisive name of the bunch, the Seattle Kraken.

There was certainly a lot of intrigue regarding the team name, with the above video on Twitter surpassing 1.5 million views only an hour after it was released.

Here’s a further breakdown of why the organization decided to go with the name Kraken.

The above tweet mentions that the large “S” on the jersey is an ode to the Seattle Metropolitans, who played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1915 to 1924.

The style of the “S” is also an ode to “a city built by the sea.”

“The clean bevel of a freshly carved vessel is a reminder of where we come from. A noble city built on the water by bold and hardened adventures.”

After the historical and geographic odes, things get a little cheesy with the rest of the description but hey, they are called the Kraken, after all.

“The eye of the Kraken has been affixed on its prey for some time. Its strike will be swift and devastating. Its opposition overwhelmed and unwary. It will all be over soon.”

Well then...

I for one am completely behind this choice of a name for Seattle. I was supporting this back in 2018 on an episode of Silky N’ Filthy here on the Nucks Misconduct Network.

Clearly, a large portion of the Canucks fan base feels otherwise.

Look at it this way. If you love the name, well, then you’re probably a goofy, silly human being. Sounds like a great way to live your life.

It you think it sucks (or at the very least you think the name is cheesy, which it is), then how is that not a good thing for Canucks fans? Why would you want your geographic rival to show you up with their name, logo and jersey?

Speaking of that new jersey, here’s a look.

Now that Seattle’s NHL franchise has picked their name and released their jerseys, Canucks fans can start prepping for this rivalry, which is set to begin in the fall of 2021.

Perhaps that rivalry will begin with Seattle’s selection of a Vancouver Canuck in the 2021 NHL Expansion draft.

How do you feel about these images below?

Okay, let’s dream a little bit bigger now.

Regardless of who Seattle picks in the upcoming expansion draft, this shapes up to be a rivalry unlike any other that the Canucks have had in their 50 year history.

Next year, once Seattle picks that team, it’s time to get Kraken on the NHL’s first Pacific Northwest rivalry.