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Gov. Inslee leaks name for Seattle's possible new NHL team; Here are other options

Jay Inslee file photo (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, Pool)

During a statement about proposed high speed rail between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., Gov. Jay Inslee referred to Seattle's potential new hockey franchise as the "Totems" when noting that fast trains would boost a hockey rivalry between the two cities.

“We cannot wait to get on a high speed rail line to come up and have the greatest rivalry in North American which is to have the Seattle Totems versus the Vancouver Canucks,” Inslee said Friday in reference to a new British Columbia government proposal to study high-speed rail between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

While prospective team owners have not revealed what a new team name might be, Totems is among the names the group has registered with the National Hockey League. Team officials have said privately no name has been chosen yet and likely won’t be until after the league officially awards a new franchise to the Emerald City — a distinct possibility during the upcoming league meeting in June.

In January, the company pushing to bring the National Hockey League to Seattle recently registered 13 domain names giving fans a hint at what the proposed team might be named.

Clark Rasmussen of detroithockey.net was among the first to discover the name of the Las Vegas Golden Knights by tracking domain name registrations. He wrote Friday morning that Christina Song, general Counsel for Oak View Group, applied for 38 domains representing 13 possible names:

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Seattle Cougars, Seattle Eagles, Seattle Emeralds, Seattle Evergreens, Seattle Firebirds, Seattle Kraken, Seattle Rainiers, Seattle Renegades, Seattle Sea Lions, Seattle Seals, Seattle Sockeyes, Seattle Totems, and the Seattle Whales. Click here to read more.

Seattle did once have Pacific Coast Hockey League team called the Totems between 1958 and 1975, prompting one observer to note that the governor might have been “projecting his 1970s Seattle childhood” when he used the moniker. Seattle also has hockey teams named the Metropolitans, Ironmen, Bombers, Americans and Thunderbirds.

Regardless of the mascot, the city does appear likely to land its first NHL franchise soon following a recent wave of deposits for season tickets. The ownership group exceeded 25,000 deposits for tickets during the first hour after opening up sales.

Click here to read the story on mynorthwest.com.