Seattle NHL Team Name Options

Top 10 Potential Names for Seattle’s NHL Franchise

Set to join the National Hockey League in the 2021-22 NHL season to become the 32nd franchise of the league, Seattle joins the NHL posed to duplicate the success that the Vegas Golden Knights have had in their brief existence.  With their first General Manager named this past week in Ron Francis, the franchise is still waiting to finalize their brand.

It’s been well-documented that the Seattle ownership group has registered a number of names for their franchise.  Everything from Totems and Emeralds to Rainiers, Sockeyes, Renegades, Sea Lions, Seals, Evergreens, Whales, Cougars, Eagles and Firebirds made the list of 13 potential names in which the Seattle ownership group registered for the city’s latest expansion team.  That doesn’t mean that one of those options will become the actual nickname of the team, but you have to think that the ownership group is leaning towards any one of those quite heavily.  So of these options, here’s what this hockey fan thinks the top ten options are.

Top 10 Names for Seattle’s NHL Team

  1. Seattle Totems – this would be our choice for the team name.  It is reminiscent of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds which is ultimately the best name for a Seattle sport franchise.  The logo would be obvious and could feature some very cool native artwork.  Merchandising options would be endless and as a player could you imagine winning a team award and receiving an actual totem pole?  That would be pretty sweet.

  2. Seattle Emeralds – Seattle is known as the Emerald City and the color green is expected to be one of the core colours of the new uniforms and jerseys making this a very viable option.

  3. Seattle Sockeyes – named after a type of Salmon that can be found in the Pacific Northwest, Sockeyes is another name that has created a bit of buzz.  Could be a cool logo, but to me fish logos seem to be more appropriate for junior teams.

  4. Seattle Kraken – I have a buddy who is a big hockey fan and thinks that the Kraken should hands down become the name for the new team.  I’m not so sure about that.  I mean I don’t mind it, but is it the right fit?  It’s pretty unique, I will give you that and Kraken is a term that does present a “menacing” association (giant squid, giant octopus anyone?) but I’m not sure that it is the best fit from a marketing perspective.

  5. Seattle Rainiers – I actually like this one quite a bit.  It’s relevant to the geographic location and it rolls of the tongue fairly nicely.  Also presents a nice option for primary and secondary logos.  This should probably be higher up on the list.

  6. Seattle Firebirds – this is close to my personal favourite the Thunderbirds although it just doesn’t sound as “mean” in terms of a sports franchise.  Could be a great option for color scheme and logos, but if you are going to consider this option, you’d be better served to legally assume Thunderbirds in my opinion.  What do you think?  T-Birds vs F-Birds?

  7. Seattle Evergreens – has a nice ring to it, but logo options are predictable.  Hence why it is lower down our list.  Overall this is one of the more boring options that the ownership group has secured.

  8. Seattle Eagles – this is a popular choice amongst many sports franchises over the years.  In hockey-lore, “Screaming Eagles” might be more fitting… Seattle Screaming Eagles.  Hmm what do you think?  Makes for a good logo options although we wouldn’t want anything to be too similar to the old Washington Capital eagle logo.  Decent option though for sure.

  9. Seattle Cougars – well we have the Florida Panthers so why not the Seattle Cougars?  Could see claw marks being used for the piping on the jerseys and a paw print for the secondary logo on the shoulder.  Cougars, we are talking about the big cat here right?

  10. Seattle Renegades – I’ve always like the Renegades as a team name.  To me it encompasses being part of a group or a team where its us against the world.  Wait didn’t Vegas just use this as their first year inspiration?  Regardless Renegades is a cool nickname and could present some great options for jerseys and such.

The Seattle ownership group is not expected to announce their name for a while yet, but you have to think that they have finalized their decision.  If they haven’t here are a few more options that perhaps should have been considered.

10 Fun Names that should have been considered

Ok so let’s have a little fun with some additional options that should have been considered.

  1. Seattle Thunderbirds – I know, I know there is already the Seattle Thunderbirds of  the WHL.  However you have to admit this is probably the coolest and most relevant nickname that a team from Seattle could have.  The logo and team colours are perfect.  For our money this would be ideal.  Merchandise sales would be off the charts.  One of the best logos in all of sports. Rated number two in the top CHL logos as ranked by the hockeyfanatic.com.
    Seattle Thunderbirds logo


  2. Seattle Metropolitans – this was actually the name of Seattle’s former team that became the first US based team to win the Stanley Cup back in 1917.  Not sure why the ownership group left this one of the list.  Probably due to Gary Bettman and the idea that there is already a Metropolitan division in the League making the name a little redundant at this point.

  3. Seattle Nirvana – traditionalists typically frown upon nicknames that are not a plural version (ending in “S”) so not sure how this one would have been received.  I mean there are professional teams with such nic-names; see Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Miami Heat or Boston Red Sox just to name a few.  Does Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl have this much influence?  Seattle Foo Fighters? Nah.

  4. Seattle Ice Jets – yeah I know we already have the Winnipeg Jets but after all Boeing’s head office is in the Seattle area.  Seattle Aviators may be a better option.

  5. Seattle Starpucks – could have a cool logo with a star and puck combination, but as the home of “Starbucks” this one might just be a little too off the wall for the ownership group.

  6. Seattle Thunder – it does rain quite a bit in Seattle and Seattle Rain just doesn’t sound like a name for a hockey team.  Thunder on the other hand is pretty cool.  Plus there’s always that cross-continent rivalry option with Tampa Bay.  Thunder vs Lightning. It could work.  Logo would be cool too.  Plus there is a connection to the former NBA Seattle franchise the Supper Sonics that relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder.  Perhaps Seattle Storm is a better fit, similar to the thunder option, however not sure if the marketing team wants an S.S. abbreviation for  the team?  The name still sounds pretty cool though.

  7. Seattle Americans – there was once the New York Americans and we do have the Montreal Canadiens, so maybe this could work.  There is also the Tri-City Americans Western Hockey League team so again legal issues could arise with this one.  It’s a little too general for my liking, but hey you never know.  With the natural geographic rivalry with Vancouver, we could have Canucks vs. Americans making this option sound even better.

  8. Seattle Rockets – before they moved to Kelowna, the old Tacoma WHL franchise was known as the Tacoma Rockets so this could definitely work.  This is another name that could be appended with “ice” where you could have the Seattle Ice Rockets as an appropriate name for a hockey team.

  9. Seattle Ice – and speaking of ice, how come there are no NHL teams called the “Ice”, simply makes sense doesn’t it?

  10. Seattle Whalers – sorry Hartford your time has come and gone.  For some reason, people love the old Hartford Whalers logo and jerseys.  Also it is true that the NHL does not have enough green in it.  We fully expect the Seattle franchise to incorporate green into their color scheme.  It would be a huge disappointment if they didn’t.

Regardless of what the owners of Seattle’s NHL team decide, it will be great to add another team in the Pacific Northwest. If they can be half as successful as the Vegas Golden Knights in their first couple of years, you have to think ownership would be satisfied with that. Speaking of Vegas, if I was a betting person, I would put my money on “Totems” or “Sockeyes” as being the nickname of the Seattle NHL franchise.