It was opening night Saturday night in Seattle as the Kraken hosted the Vancouver Canucks for the first home game in their history. Even though the new franchise lost 4-2 to their opponents, they still put on quite a show for the crowd gathered at Climate Pledge Arena.
The fans in attendance did not miss the opportunity to prove to the rest of the league that they are true hockey fans. As fans from all over the league do, they were quick to boo National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman when he came to address the crowd prior to the start of the game.
The latter, however, managed to get the crowd to react positively towards the end of his speech by uttering the organization's famous slogan: "Release the Kraken" and letting out a "Let's go Kraken" before heading backstage.
The Kraken organization also wasted no time, having already had the number 32 removed. This one is obviously not worn by any of its players, but rather serves as a tribute to Seattle being the 32nd organization in the NHL, and to the 32,000 people who put down a deposit for a season ticket before the city even officially got a franchise.
In a funny twist, four teams currently in the National Hockey League have yet to retire any numbers - the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets - while the Seattle Kraken, which has played in only six regular season games, has already done so.
In short, while the team is not off to as good a start as its predecessors (the Vegas Golden Knights), it is fair to say that the Kraken has integrated exceptionally well into the NHL picture.
