Should the NHL set aside “Pirates” for a Seattle team now, or would that be a little too hasty?
In revealing the latest plans to renovate KeyArena - and thus bring in an NHL team along with rejuvenating the beloved NBA’s Sonics - Tim Leiweke announced that famous Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer is expected to be part of a group looking to land a team in that area.
Also listed in that group is Boston Celtics minority owner David Bonderman, as KING 5’s Chris Daniels reports.
Daniels notes that Lieweke and Irving Azoff are spearheading a "$564 million gut remodel of the facility.”
“We’re committed to making sure that the passion we have for this city will be the passion that we give you every day to not only build a world-class arena for all of our generation, but to bring the NBA and the NHL back to Seattle—NBA back, NHL new,” Leiweke said.
To add even more legitimacy to the presentation, key members of the Vancouver Canucks (Francesco Aquilini) and Florida Panthers (Peter Luukko) were on hand, not to mention members from other professional sports teams and leagues.
More: Leiweke group picked.
Daniels reports that the Seattle Mayor Ed Murray confirmed contact with the NHL regarding the matter.
Murray says he has been in contact with NBA/NHL commissioners. #Seattle
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels_TV) June 7, 2017
Interesting. This saga has already seen plenty of twists and turns, so we’ll see if there’s eventually fire to go with all the smoke.
Now, if a Bruckhemier-helmed group indeed lands a Seattle NHL team, we’re really going to need to hash out a perfect team name. “Pirates of the Caribbean” seems like the most obvious choice, and while it would be better than the Seattle Sorcerer’s Apprentice, his imdb page provides plenty of fodder to distract you before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final kicks into gear on Thursday.