SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The National Hockey League is expanding to Seattle.
The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved adding Seattle as the league’s 32nd franchise on Tuesday. Play will begin in 2021 to allow enough time for arena renovations. The as-yet unnamed franchise will be the Emerald City’s first major winter sports team since the NBA’s SuperSonics left town in 2008.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a watch party in Seattle: “I got a call from a mole in the room and it was a unanimous vote. We’re getting hockey.”
The decision was widely expected after the Seattle Hockey Partners group impressed the board’s executive committee in October and had all the ingredients the NHL was looking for.