Seattle NHL Brand Discussion

[Thaumatrope]

I mentioned this in the Palm Springs AHL thread from a few weeks ago...but what if the "trade mark issues" alluded to in the interview aren't about the Sockeyes, but the Thunderbirds? The organization was clearly willing to go to the mat in order to secure the Firebirds trademark, so why not go for broke and acquire the Thunderbirds brand while they're at it? 

 

In a three way race between Kraken, Sockeyes, and Thunderbirds, I'd argue the Thunderbirds stands heads and shoulders above the other two. It's an identity with a lot of history in the market and it doesn't have the same baggage as Totems, and while Metropolitans is the obvious choice from a historical perspective, I suspect that the Mets are strongly opposed to sharing.

 

Either that or they're going with a mythical creatures theme...in which case it's the Kraken.

[Ridleylash]

I don't see them using the T-Birds brand; they'll want their own branding instead of just copping a brand from a major junior team in the same market; especially since the T-Birds are well-established in Seattle and just copying them would come off as extremely cheap and lazy with how often they've delayed revealing the brand of this team already. Plus, T-Birds wasn't on the shortlist of names, so I doubt they've even considered using it anyways.

 

And AHL affiliate names don't always tie in to the NHL team they're partnered with; Isles-Sound Tigers, Canucks-Comets, Blue Jackets-Monsters, Admirals-Predators, Sabres-Americans, etc. The AHL team can be the Firebirds and the NHL team can be the Sockeyes; I don't see any problem with that. Not every team is going to be as thematically-strict as Vegas.

 

"Firebirds" makes sense in Palm Springs since it's California and the area is a desert. It doesn't need to be anything more than that.

[Thaumatrope]

But if there's no organizational significance to Firebirds, why put in the effort to obtain the trademark? If it was just some random name, why not move on to something else? The fact that they stuck it out suggests that they have something specific in mind. 

 

Obviously Thunderbirds is a shot in the dark, but I'm convinced there's a bigger plan underway.

[lilgump]

I would love Thunderbirds.  Maybe all this time they're taking is to work out a deal with the minor league team.  

 

They don't have to keep the same branding (although I love the current branding, I know they're trying to avoid Canucks look)

 

No other name I've heard really excited me.  Sockeyes is the best choice of the rest but very meh.  Kraken is minor league baseball, totems, emeralds, evergreens, Cascades all seem so bland.

[sky1324]

My personal choice is either Totems or Metros due to historical significance (as well as some sick imagery) but Sockeyes and Thunderbirds are also great. Kraken is at the bottom of my list because of minor league is it. I'd rather they pick a more local name the the "edgy" or "cool" pick. Sockeyes is an awesome name that's locally important and lends itself to some cool imagery. 

[monkeypower]

Like I've said before every time this comes up, I think there is a very, very slim to none chance that the Seattle NHL team will be named the Thunderbirds.

 

There have been no substantial rumors of Thunderbirds being the name, it's never been on the shortlist, and the WHL Thunderbirds don't appear to be folding or relocating with the arrival of the NHL.

 

You can't compare Seattle getting a deal done with Flint for Firebirds, a team located 2231 miles away in the next league over where there will be little to no interaction between the teams, to taking the name of a team in their own backyard who is

1. Still currently active
2. Still using the name "Thunderbirds"
3. Have used that name since 1985, and 
4. Has an established fanbase that will be the same fanbase the NHL team will be attempting to draw from

[VancouverFan69]

Speaking of the Thunderbirds, I cannot understand how a name like "Breakers", the previous name of the Thunderbirds franchise was not included on the list. "Seattle Breakers" flows off the tongue very easily, sounds compatible with other well-established NHL clubs and a variety of shades of green, teal and blue with either a touch of yellow or orange can be used for a simple yet effective colour scheme.

[~Bear]

Sockeyes is my personal favorite name. Amazing hockey pun and ties into local fauna. A win-win imo

Metros is okay. I know it has historical context, but it's a little bland for my personal taste. I also have a gut feeling that any look for Metros would look like this, although if anyone has seen any good concepts with that name, please point me in that direction. 

Kraken is also ok. I haven't found a conclusive answer on what the plural for Kraken is (Kraken/Krakens), and I understand the sentiment that it might sound a little minor league-esque, but it's nowhere near as bad as names like Heat, Wild, Magic, or Jazz. For me, it would really depend on the entire branding package on if I liked the identity or not. 

Also, keep in mind, the Golden Knights overcame a pretty bad name and came out with a strong identity. Hopefully if the name is Kraken, the team can do the same. 

[Bayne]

5 hours ago, ~Bear said:

Sockeyes is my personal favorite name. Amazing hockey pun and ties into local fauna. A win-win imo

Metros is okay. I know it has historical context, but it's a little bland for my personal taste. I also have a gut feeling that any look for Metros would look like this, although if anyone has seen any good concepts with that name, please point me in that direction. 

Kraken is also ok. I haven't found a conclusive answer on what the plural for Kraken is (Kraken/Krakens), and I understand the sentiment that it might sound a little minor league-esque, but it's nowhere near as bad as names like Heat, Wild, Magic, or Jazz. For me, it would really depend on the entire branding package on if I liked the identity or not. 

Also, keep in mind, the Golden Knights overcame a pretty bad name and came out with a strong identity. Hopefully if the name is Kraken, the team can do the same. 

Agreed. Although I would still maintain that even though the Golden Knights have created a good solid identity, I still dislike the team name. 

 

Kraken COULD be apart of a very good identity package. But I am skeptical. And I just don't like the name based on the way it sounds. Too minor league-ish and it just feels at odds with the nomenclature of most of the other NHL franchises. In saying that, I could equally predict that if they did go with Kraken, in 5 years from now it will feel/sound totally fine and I may even like it. Funny how that often works. 

[Tygers09]

The plural form of Kraken is just that. It's like deer or moose, that is a plural form of those names. A herd is the collective of a bunch these 2 animals, they're not called deers or meese.

[Ridleylash]

2 hours ago, Tygers09 said:

The plural form of Kraken is just that. It's like deer or moose, that is a plural form of those names. A herd is the collective of a bunch these 2 animals, they're not called deers or meese.

That still doesn't change the fact that it sounds stupid.  It's a name mainly propped on memes and "le epikness", which fall out of style, not on being a lasting and timeless branding. The last time the kraken was even culturally relevant beyond the myth was...what, Pirates of the Caribbean? Maybe the Clash of the Titans remake? It feels a bit disingenuous to name the team that when it barely has any ties to the place the team is located.

 

"Kraken" is just the nu generation "Wild"; a name that on paper sounds neat, but in practice is rather stupid. That's why I wish the Wild could've gotten the name "North Stars"; it's a much, much better name than "Wild" ever will be.

[Tygers09]

I was just talking about how kraken is spoken, I with you about choosing it as the name of the team.

[king_mahalo]

On 6/18/2020 at 6:33 PM, Ridleylash said:

I don't see them using the T-Birds brand; they'll want their own branding instead of just copping a brand from a major junior team in the same market; especially since the T-Birds are well-established in Seattle and just copying them would come off as extremely cheap and lazy with how often they've delayed revealing the brand of this team already. Plus, T-Birds wasn't on the shortlist of names, so I doubt they've even considered using it anyways.

 

And AHL affiliate names don't always tie in to the NHL team they're partnered with; Isles-Sound Tigers, Canucks-Comets, Blue Jackets-Monsters, Admirals-Predators, Sabres-Americans, etc. The AHL team can be the Firebirds and the NHL team can be the Sockeyes; I don't see any problem with that. Not every team is going to be as thematically-strict as Vegas.

 

"Firebirds" makes sense in Palm Springs since it's California and the area is a desert. It doesn't need to be anything more than that.

Seattle has never released a short list of names. Years ago there was a leak of domain names that the team registered. That doesn’t mean they’re certainly choosing between those 13 names. 
 

I’d argue Thunderbirds is the best historic name they could choose. It’s regionally relevant, a powerful native symbol (at the top of the totem pole), and the T-Birds played for years in the same Key Arena. 
 

update the colors and logo, and they’ve got a winner in my book. 

[OnWis97]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:09 PM, Ridleylash said:

That still doesn't change the fact that it sounds stupid.  It's a name mainly propped on memes and "le epikness", which fall out of style, not on being a lasting and timeless branding. The last time the kraken was even culturally relevant beyond the myth was...what, Pirates of the Caribbean? Maybe the Clash of the Titans remake? It feels a bit disingenuous to name the team that when it barely has any ties to the place the team is located.

 

"Kraken" is just the nu generation "Wild"; a name that on paper sounds neat, but in practice is rather stupid. That's why I wish the Wild could've gotten the name "North Stars"; it's a much, much better name than "Wild" ever will be.

Nothing in the "big 4" is as bad as Wild (which never sounded good on paper or anything else and I have never wavered for a second from thinking it's awful).  That said, I agree with this.  The franchise should learn from "Wild."  Are people going to like this name in 30 years?  This isn't a third jersey; it's the name that you're hopefully going to have for decades.  It's terrible now...but when the newness wears off, it just doesn't have the dignity of Mariners and Seahawks.

[king_mahalo]

On 6/18/2020 at 8:53 PM, monkeypower said:

Like I've said before every time this comes up, I think there is a very, very slim to none chance that the Seattle NHL team will be named the Thunderbirds.

 

There have been no substantial rumors of Thunderbirds being the name, it's never been on the shortlist, and the WHL Thunderbirds don't appear to be folding or relocating with the arrival of the NHL.

 

You can't compare Seattle getting a deal done with Flint for Firebirds, a team located 2231 miles away in the next league over where there will be little to no interaction between the teams, to taking the name of a team in their own backyard who is

1. Still currently active
2. Still using the name "Thunderbirds"
3. Have used that name since 1985, and 
4. Has an established fanbase that will be the same fanbase the NHL team will be attempting to draw from

My theory is they’ve decided to sell the name to try and recoup their losses from COVID-19. NHL Seattle reached out to the WHL Thunderbirds years ago and they weren’t interested in selling. So the NHL team was to be named ‘Kraken’...until they got a call from WHL Thunderbirds at the 11th hour, ready to talk. Now there’s new branding/trademark issues to work through. 
 

just my theory 

[fbjim]

The reports of trademark issues, if they exist, are likely from "Kraken" being associated with a very popular brand of rum. God willing, that's enough to sink this thing. 

[monkeypower]

38 minutes ago, king_mahalo said:

My theory is they’ve decided to sell the name to try and recoup their losses from COVID-19. NHL Seattle reached out to the WHL Thunderbirds years ago and they weren’t interested in selling. So the NHL team was to be named ‘Kraken’...until they got a call from WHL Thunderbirds at the 11th hour, ready to talk. Now there’s new branding/trademark issues to work through. 
 

just my theory 

 

 

So, in your theory, the Thunderbirds would be trying to recoup "COVID-19 losses", of which it would mainly be offsetting the losses of missing the remaining four regular season home games and probably only two home playoff games (because the 24-32-7=55 point T-Birds, at the time of the season being shut down, would have been facing either the 45-11-7=97 point Winterhawks or the 46-13-4=96 point Silvertips). However, also in your theory, the former-Thunderbirds would then have to spend money to deal with rebranding and everything that entails. So they would get money from the Seattle NHL team, which would recoup their "COVID-19 losses", but they they would have to spend money to rebrand, so they probably still wouldn't even recoup all these "COVID-19" losses.

 

There's also been no rumblings from WHL (or NHL) insiders, at least that I've seen. You'd think that if Seattle NHL had reached out to the Thunderbirds "years ago" we would have heard about it. You'd also think that if the Thunderbirds agreed to some 11th hour deal to sell the branding, we also would have heard that. 

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is extremely unlikely that the Seattle NHL team is going to be the Thunderbirds. Just think about it for a bit.

• Why would the Seattle NHL team want to steal an already existing, and active, team branding instead of creating their own brand new look? It would be an extremely poor brand recognition starting point for this NHL team.
• Why would the Seattle Thunderbirds want to give up their 35 year old branding, which they have built while being the premier hockey team in the greater Seattle area?

[Gobbi]

51 minutes ago, fbjim said:

The reports of trademark issues, if they exist, are likely from "Kraken" being associated with a very popular brand of rum. God willing, that's enough to sink this thing. 

Or if they refuse to let it sink it, we get stuck with "Golden Kraken"

[VancouverFan69]

I believe the trademark issues are related to the "Sockeyes" name and it's namesake used for the book title by Jami Davenport. 

Hockey Heaven forbid, if NHLSeattle goes with Kraken, I will lose ALL interest in Seattle's NHL existence.

[Matthew24]

On 6/19/2020 at 1:41 AM, VancouverFan69 said:

Speaking of the Thunderbirds, I cannot understand how a name like "Breakers", the previous name of the Thunderbirds franchise was not included on the list. "Seattle Breakers" flows off the tongue very easily, sounds compatible with other well-established NHL clubs and a variety of shades of green, teal and blue with either a touch of yellow or orange can be used for a simple yet effective colour scheme.

I do you one better. Why isn't Breakers used anymore in sports. Seattle Breakers would be a awesome name and would be original in the NHL. I would love to see the nickname be used again in any sports.