In an interesting turn of events today the Oak View Group (OVG) secured, through purchase, a number of domain names for the possible Seattle NHL franchise. The Seattle ownership group is rumored to include billionaire David Bonderman and Hollywood mogul Jerry Bruckheimer. There is no formal ownership group, as Seattle has not officially applied for an expansion team. However, Bonderman and Bruckheimer are the expected owners.
Seattle Oak View Group Registers Multiple Team Domain Names
OVG registered the following team names: Seattle Cougars, Seattle Eagles, Seattle Emeralds, Seattle Evergreens, Seattle Firebirds, Seattle Kraken, Seattle Rainiers, Seattle Renegades, Seattle Sea Lions, Seattle Seals, Seattle Sockeyes, Seattle Totems, and Seattle Whales.
Does this mean that Seattle has been granted an expansion team? Not yet. They need to go through the expansion process to have the team granted. Prior to that OVG will run a ticket drive to gauge interest. No date has been released for the ticket drive but it is speculated to start up in February or March of 2018.
Team Names With Seattle History
A number of these names have a history in Seattle or leagues that Seattle has been a part of in the past.
The Seattle Totems played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1958-1974. They were notable for playing the Soviet Red Army Team in 1972. One of the only American teams to do so. They lost 9-4. There is also junior hockey team in the Seattle area that bears the name.
Seattle Rainers were a baseball team that played their games in the Pacific Coast League through the 1950’s.
The Seattle Cougars is a reference to the animal as well as the Victoria Cougars. The Victoria B.C. rivals of the Stanley Cup winning Seattle Metropolitans.
Seals a name used by the World Hockey League (San Francisco) and NHL team the Oakland Seals (as well as the California Seals, and California Golden Seals).
Many of the names relate to Seattle nicknames, Emeralds, or local wildlife or fictitious beasts, Kraken, Renegades, Sea Lions.
In Lynwood, north of Seattle, last stop for the Stanley Cup and there are 400+ people waiting for their 30 seconds with the cup. @NHL this town is so ready for a team!! @NHLtoSeattle @WWFHA will help with the transition! pic.twitter.com/UGb86vW4Nv
— WaitingforOctober (@Sounder2thecore) December 22, 2017
To be sure the Seattle area is ready for an NHL team. This was evident as the Stanley Cup toured through the area in late December. At one stop at the Olympic View Ice Arena, the home ice for the Seattle Jr. Totems, approximately 1,500 people waited over two hours in line to spend 10 seconds with the cup. The NHL team, if granted, might not be named any of these but it indicates the seriousness of the Oak View Group to land an NHL team to start the 2020-21 season.
