March 1, 2018

Oak View Group, the company leading the New Arena at Seattle Center construction, set a goal of 10,000 NHL season-ticket deposits of $500 to $1,000 in 6 months. Fans make 10,000 deposits in the first 12 minutes and more than 32,000 deposits in the first day, crushing the league requirement and all previous expansion team records.

July 3, 2018

John Rizzardini, team executive VP of business operations, and Heidi Dettmer, VP of marketing, meet for an exploratory lunch with representatives from Adidas, the NHL's official uniform designer.

July 19, 2018

Adidas executives join Rizzardini and Dettmer to pitch concepts to Jerry Bruckheimer, NHL Seattle owner, at JB Studios in Los Angeles. 

August 6, 2018

NHL Seattle begins social media listening for name suggestions. The fans stanning for Kraken, Metropolitans and Sockeyes is evident in the earliest days.

Sept. 5, 2018

On a postcard-perfect for NHL Seattle and OVG, brothers Tod and Tim Leiweke announce an agreement with Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle for a proposed New Arena. Seven local leaders join the ownership group, raise a flag at the Space Needle. Fans instantly speculate if red will be a team color.

Oct. 8, 2018

Seattle Times announces results of its unofficial "tournament bracket" to name the team. The final vote count is 146,144 with Sockeyes, Totems, Metropolitans, Steelheads and Kraken getting the most votes.

Nov. 26, 2018

Initial "Focus Group" hosted by Adidas in Seattle. Random fans invited to participate this was specific to team name only. Results shared with NHL Seattle ownership and executives.

Dec. 4, 2018

The first U.S. city to win the Stanley Cup is awarded the NHL's 32nd franchise in a unanimous vote of approval at the league's Board of Governors meeting in Sea Island, GA.