Will the Seattle Kraken be credited with their first save before they ever play a game?

Anthony Scultore |

Nov 29, 2020

So the NHL owners are looking for $300 million dollars in relief for the 2020-21 season. Well, one Hall of Fame hockey writer is asking for the Seattle Kraken to step up and give it to them.

“How the Seattle Kraken could save the upcoming NHL season”

Larry Brooks of the NY Post is asking just that and making a very sound argument for it. The Seattle Kraken owe the league $650 million in expansion fees before the 2021-22 season. If the NHL could get half of it now, that would solve the problem according to Brooks.

Instead of asking, say, Scott Mayfield, who is scheduled to earn $1.2 million this year, for an immediate rebate that would amount to $242,400 (or 20.2 percent of his pay), Bettman and his wartime consigliere, Boston owner “Mr. Jacobs” should ask Seattle owners David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer to float the league.
Bonderman, chairman and founder of the Equity firm TPG, has a net worth of $4 billion, according to Forbes. Bruckheimer, the movie and television producer, has a net worth of up to $1 billion, according to the magazine.
Larry Brooks, NY POST

The article also pushes the envelope by implying the NHLPA should file labor law complaints in both the U.S. and Canada. This caught the attention of super-agent Allan Walsh who endorsed the idea on Twitter.

You safely can bet the NHL is monitoring all of this too.

“If the league’s request for relief coupled with an implied threat to cancel the season is in violation of US or Canadian labor law, then the PA should file an immediate complaint to the appropriate governing bodies.” https://t.co/TfHexEPIjK
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) November 28, 2020

The Seattle Kraken should do it

Imagine if the Seattle Kraken stepped up to the plate and made the offer? They would immediately become the darlings of NHL fanbases around the world.

Headlines would read; “Saved by the Kraken” or “Kraken earn first NHL win before ever playing a game”! Think of the marketing possibilities? How about all the merchandise they would sell.

Of course, no one ever usually gives something for nothing in the corporate world. The NHL could entice the Kraken by maybe reducing the expansion fee. Or more likely, allowing them to pay a considerable portion of the second half over time.

Regardless, Larry Brooks raises a great question. Will the Seattle Kraken answer it?