NHL's Seattle Franchise Says It's 'Close' to Choosing Name, Logo, Colors

Seattle-based hockey fans will soon know the name of their new NHL team. For real, this time.

The league's newest franchise has been teasing the unveiling of its official branding for months, but the hold up at this point is apparently more about choosing the correct time rather than deciding on a moniker.

"We're still going through the legal process, led by the league," the team's VP of communications, Katie Townsend, told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "Then it's just making sure we're sensitive to the community. We don't want to be tone deaf. We want to make sure the mood is right."

Seattle's prospective name has prompted one of the more fun fan debates around the league.

In January 2018, the franchise registered domains for 13 possible nicknames, ranging from the classic to quirky. The Cougars, Eagles, Emeralds, Evergreens, Firebirds, Kraken, Rainiers, Renegades, Sea Lions, Seals, Sockeyes, Totems and Whales were all thrown out as potential team names and that's been about as far as the franchise has tipped its hand when it comes to its branding.

Both the Seals and Whales have been used in some form in the league before, the former with the California Golden Seals from 1967 to 1976 and the latter with the Hartford Whalers from 1979 to 1997. The Whales might not make much sense here since the Carolina Hurricanes still use Whalers branding even after relocating the franchise.

Much like when the Vegas Golden Knights unveiled their name, logo and colors, Seattle's impending decision has created plenty of hype even though the team won't take the ice until the 2021-22 season.

With hockey on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the unveiling of the team name in the coming weeks could provide the league with a positive storyline to focus on while working through contingency plans for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

Unfortunately, the pandemic is also partially what is holding the team back from announcing. The state of Washington and the Seattle metropolitan area, in particular, have been hard hit by COVID-19, and Townsend said the team is trying to be respectful of the situation.

The VP told ESPN the team has suspended its season ticket sales push while staying sensitive to the "economic and psychological" issues those in the area are dealing with.