The NHL has awarded the city of Seattle an expansion team to debut in the 2021-22 season.
The addition of the 32nd NHL franchise to the Emerald City was approved Tuesday in a unanimous vote by the board of governors. Seattle, the 18th-largest city in the United States, has not had a winter sports team since the NBA’s SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008.
Seattle’s NHL ownership group had expressed a desire to enter the league in 2020, but the league had reservations about whether that might rush the renovation to Key Arena and, instead, pushed the entry date a year later. Those renovations have now reached a price tag of $800 million.
The Seattle team, which has yet to have a team name or mascot, will enter the league as a member of the Pacific Division, pushing the Arizona Coyotes to the Central Division.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the Seattle franchise will benefit from the same expansion-draft rules used by the Vegas Golden Knights, who entered the league last season and made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final, falling to Washington. (ESPN)
