Maddie Meyer // Getty ImagesStories behind every NHL team nameSeattle hockey fans have eagerly followed their team ever since the NHL awarded the city its 32nd franchise in 2018. To explore how all 32 NHL teams got their names (and how some rebranded after moving to new cities), Stacker researched team histories from the National Hockey Association’s founding in December 1909 to its reorganization into the NHL in November 1917 and beyond. When a grocery store tycoon in Boston, Charles Adams, started a hockey team, he didn’t have a name in mind. Thus Atlanta’s hockey team was named the Flames in 1972; when the team moved to Calgary in 1980, the name went with it. Abbie Parr // Getty ImagesSeattle KrakenSeattle’s newest NHL franchise, the Kraken, explored over 1,200 different team names and logos from 2018 until their official branding reveal in 2020, after being awarded the league’s 32nd team and beginning play in the 2021–22 season.