The NHL’s upcoming 32nd franchise team in Seattle will soon have its name, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

During Saturday’s broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada, Johnston mentioned during the Headlines segment that a name announcement should be expected before the All-Star break in January.

“It sounds as though they’re very, very close behind the scenes on finalizing that name and they intend to release that name to the public before the All-Star Break,” Johnston said. “So we’ll start to get a little bit of personality to go with that team.”

The Seattle franchise was confirmed to joining the NHL in December 2018. They will begin playing in 2021-22 season after renovations to the KeyArena are complete.

When rumors of a Seattle franchise first surfaced, a shortlist of 13 names registered by the Oak View Group was discovered. The Oak View Group is the company renovating the KeyArena.

Those 13 names are as follows:

• Rainiers
• Kraken
• Evergreens
• Seals
• Emeralds
• Sea Lions
• Sockeyes
• Whales
• Eagles
• Totems
• Cougars
• Firebirds
• Renegades

In August, Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke spoke about the importance of choosing the Kraken right name for the franchise.

“When we realized [starting to play in] 2020 wasn’t in the cards, it bought us additional time, not only to research the name but to better understand who we are and what we stand for,” Leiweke told NHL.com’s Bob Condor. “We have become better listeners. A great name not only speaks of who you are but also speaks to what you’re not.”

The expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken franchise will take place in June 2021. As with the Vegas expansion draft, Seattle will be able to choose one player from each NHL team, except for the Golden Knights, who joined the league during the 2017-18 season.

Headline photo: Pixabay