Tippett, who was a Ron Francis teammate with the Hartford Whalers, was involved in all phases of the expansion start-up, ranging from construction of Climate Pledge to what features were mandatory for the team's training center in Northgate to the team name and jersey design. He was out to the bench viewing the ice surface long before his squad took the ice for Friday's morning skate.
"It's really neat, it's my first time seeing the (finished) arena," said Tippett, smiling. "They've done an amazing job, everybody involved with this incredible endeavor, especially during COVID."
In a way, Tippett looked like he was home.
"I feel honored to have worked with this (Seattle) group and all of the people," said Tippett, calling out Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke.
Tippett said "there were a lot of balls in the air" and "some days he wondered" because he was "not sure it was all gonna fly." He recalled seeing the blueprint for the tunnel now dug and providing two-way traffic for eight subterranean loading docks, but back then confounded about a "tunnel starting a block away" that was being planned underneath a landmark structure, Bressi Garage.
He pondered whether twin video boards above each end of the rink was a good idea. Friday, he concluded "it all came together and was exciting to see."
