The Blank Slate:The Seattle Vipers

[stevio51]

6/20/2011
“The league cannot afford to keep the team,” said a distressed Gary Bettman, “as of today the Phoenix Coyotes have folded operations. We will play this 2011-2012 season with 29 teams.” The league owned Coyotes had been hemorrhaging money for years and after three years with no owner. The league has a schedule in place for the 29 teams and the league will soon be hearing bids for the 30th spot. All of the Coyotes under contract have been bought out by the league and will be free agents on July 1.

7/14/2011
The city of Seattle will have an NHL team in 2012. The league has awarded the 30th spot in the league to a group of investors from Seattle led by businessman Steve Thomas. “We are so excited to have this opportunity and will name our pick for general manager to start scouting for the team in a couple of months. Get ready Seattle we now have the NHL!” Thomas, who used to be a minority owner of the Nashville Predators, has said the 2012-13 season will be held in a renovated Key Arena while a new 18,500 seat arena is being built.

11/15/2011
In a press conference today Paul Fenton, the former assistant general manager of the Nashville Predators, has been named as the general manager of the new Seattle NHL team. “It’s exciting to think that this team is going to be the mark that I leave on the league. It’s a very unique opportunity to start out with a clean slate and build a team completely the way I want to,” Fenton said. Gary Bettman also announced that Seattle will have the first pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

3/21/2012
Please welcome to the ice your Seattle Vipers! Seattle NHL season ticket holders were invited to an event last night where they were able to meet the owners, general manager Paul Fenton and witnessed the naming of the first head coach and the naming of the team. Ron Wilson was named the inaugural head coach of the Seattle franchise and the new name and logo were unveiled to season ticket holders. The team will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference along with the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars. The team will pick its first players at the entry draft in June and can start signing free agents on July 1st.

[Weezer21]

Sweeeeet , Seattle bro!

[stevio51]

6/26/2012
The first ever Seattle Viper is Zach Franko the winger out of Kelowna in the WHL. The Vipers also drafted the Spokane Chiefs defenseman Tanner Mort in the second round, a couple of Russians out of Sarnia in Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk in the third and fifth rounds. In the fourth round the Vipers picked up the Swede Pontus Aberg. Goalie Malcolm Subban was selected in the sixth round and the first pick of the seventh round was blueliner Pierre-Luc Pelletier.

8/1/2012
As we look back on the free agency period we see great hope for the future in names like Alex Radulov and Mikael Granlund, we also see great legacies in Jaromir Jagr and Shane Doan. This team looks as if it can compete in their first year. For those in the Seattle area who haven’t heard of enforcer Paul Bissonette, please get on your twitter and follow @biznasty2point0. This expansion team will be able to compete for a playoff spot this year. I guarantee it. The jerseys for the team were unveiled today with your captain Shane Doan in the home blue jersey and the starting netminder Antero Niittymaki in the road white.


10/4/2012
Here is your opening night roster for the Seattle Vipers for their game tomorrow hosting the Carolina Hurricanes.
Opening Night 2012-13 Roster
Player Number Pos Captaincy
Andrew Raycroft 1 G
Kurtis Foster 6 D
Wade Redden 7 D
Justin Abdelkader 8 C
Blair Betts 11 C
Paul Bissonette 12 F
Jack Skille 13 RW
Jonathan Cheechoo 14 LW
Eric Fehr 16 RW
Rafael Diaz 17 D
Niclas Bergfors 18 LW
Shane Doan 19 LW C
Brad Winchester 20 LW
Erik Christensen 26 C
Aaron Rome 29 D
Antero Niittymaki 30 G
Raitis Ivanans 41 F
Kurt Sauer 44 D
Alexander Radulov 47 RW
Mikael Granlund 64 C
Jaromir Jagr 68 RW A
Pavel Kubina 77 D A

Head Coach-Ron Wilson
GM-Paul Fenton

[stevio51]

10/5/2012
The team that took the ice tonight did not look like an expansion team. Ron Wilson pumped his boys up and they took the body early. Seattle possessed the puck all game and only allowed one shot in the first period while Jack Skille slid a shot behind Cam Ward to go up 1-0 after the 1st. Seattle ended up with three goals in the second to lead 4-0 and sat back in the third period to win the game 4-2. “There really isn’t a much better way to start this franchise, now is there?” said Coach Wilson after the win, “We have a good core, and we aren’t going to roll over for anyone else just because this is our first year.” Of the new fans in Seattle he said, “They were loud, I had goosebumps walking out of the tunnel. You could feel that the fans were excited and that translated to the great start.”