The NHL has announced its 32nd franchise, with Seattle being unanimously voted in by the board of governors and set to start their first season in 2021-2022.

Seattle is the second team to be brought in to the league in the last few years, with the other being the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights of course are remembered for their memorable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year.

Seattle had to pay a $650 million entry fee for their entry into the league, up from the $500 million that Vegas had to pay for their entry.

The fans around the NHL have had mixed reactions to the NHL expanding to Seattle. For many, they see that their favorite NHL team will be slimmed down of roster talent.

Penguin fans know all about this, having lost fan-favorite goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to Vegas.

With their recent goaltending struggles, the Penguins have felt the void of Fleury not being around. Ever since the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2017, goaltender Matt Murray simply has not been stable in net. There have been times where the Penguins have needed a guy exactly like Fleury. They may have even been able to three-peat had Fleury been in net instead of Murray.

Other teams have also been cut short and have had to make tough decisions to part with players they do not want to get rid of.

The NHL, however, has found success in cities that are starved of a winter professional sports teams, such as Columbus, Nashville, and Las Vegas.

This is Seattle’s first professional winter sports team since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City. The name of Seattle’s hockey team will picked from 13 possible names that include the Emeralds, Totems, and Evergreens.

An NHL team will ultimately be a major success due to the amount of young “hipsters” in the area. It will be a great addition for the NHL to add a young fan base such as Seattle to the growing sport.