NHL Seattle expected to announce team name Thursday

UPDATE: Release the Kraken! NHL Seattle made the big announcement. Click here for details. 

Release the kraken? Sockeyes set sail? NHL Seattle is widely expected to announce its team name, colors and logo at a press conference Thursday morning. 

The event will start at 9 a.m. 

The team also tweeted a preview video hinting at the team name, with a ferry boat horn replacing the prominent goal-scoring sound at hockey games.

NHL Seattle had been working through trademark issues before announcing an official name. Contenders include the Seattle Sockeyes, Seattle Kraken and Seattle Totems.  

An unofficial polling of Puget Sound area residents by Q13 photojournalist Michael Driver shows support for the Seattle Kraken, though Seattle Times readers chose the Sockeyes. 

The team will play at Seattle Center's Climate Pledge Arena, renamed in late June by Amazon, Oak View Group and NHL Seattle. The partners say it will be the first zero carbon arena in the world. 

According to NHL website, the Climate Pledge Arena is set to open late summer 2021 and the first NHL season will follow.