Liam Neeson Weighs in on Fans Demanding Seattle NHL Team to ‘Release the Kraken

The NHL has a new hockey team in the Seattle Kraken, which will begin playing in 2021. But when the team announced its nickname, it reminded some fans of the 2010 film Clash of the Titans when Greek God Zeus said three memorable words: “Release the Kraken.” Liam Neeson played Zeus in Clash of the Titans, and ET Canada asked him about NHL fans using the phrase.

“Really?” Neeson asked ET Canada while laughing. “I thought it was because Jerry Bruckheimer uses the Kraken in those deep-sea monsters in Pirates Of The Caribbean. That was the connection I made.” The reason the Irish actor mentioned Bruckheimer is the fact he’s a co-owner of the team franchise, which led to Neeson joking: “Do you think I can get a little piece of that franchise?”

The Kraken will be the NHL’s 32nd franchise and will be the first pro hockey team to play in Seattle since 1975. However, the Kraken will be the first Seattle hockey team to compete for a Stanley Cup since the Seattle Metropolitans in 1924.

“It’s a very unique and unusual name in sports, because almost all sports franchises end with an ‘S,’” Andy Jassy, a part-owner of the team, said to ESPN when the name was announced. “There are a lot of obvious connections to Seattle — part because of our maritime history; part of because we have so much water around us — but there is longtime folklore in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest of this mystical Kraken creature that lives just below the surface of the sea, which really captivated people for many years.”

Jassy said the team looked at more than 1,200 names but took a closer look at 100. The franchise then settled on five finalists, which were sealed in an envelope and put into the time capsule located in Seattle’s Space Needle. The time capsule will be open in 2062.

The Kraken will play at the Climate Pledge Arena. It will be an 18,000-seat venue which is expected to host 200 events a year, including concerts, NHL and WNBA games. The Climate Pledge Arena is currently under construction and will be open in June 2021. The Kraken will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They will be the first team to join the NHL since the Las Vegas Golden Knights in 2017.