The Seattle Kraken have incurred a self-inflicted head wound, and the fan base isn’t sending get-well-soon cards.
For those of you late to the “Davy Jones Hat” firestorm, the hat in question used to be handed out in the dressing room by one teammate to another judged most consequential in that night’s Kraken victory.
Some history: when film producer and Kraken co-owner Jerry Bruckheimer heard the team was using a garden-variety pirate hat during its first month of existence, he sent up from Hollywood a more appropriate chapeau – right off the noggin of Davy Jones, one of the baddies from his Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
On the night of Nov. 21, 2021, the first-ever Kraken awarded the Davy Jones Hat was winger Marcus Johansson (standing in image at right).
With three minutes to play, Johansson had scored the tie-breaking goal in a 2-1 Seattle home win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Marcus looked dashing, once he figured out which way the hat should point.
The scene has been repeated in the dressing room after every home or road triumph since, until this season’s first victory.
Following a 5-4 shootout win in Minnesota on Saturday, Jamie Oleksiak awarded two-goal scorer Jordan Eberle, not the hat, but a pro wrestling-style championship belt adorned with the Kraken “S” logo.
Social media reacted with a tidal wave of disgust. Poster @eigenseide summed up the consensus of opinion best: “Hate the belt. Belts are boring, everyone does it. Bring back the Davy Jones hat – it’s unique to the identity of the team.”
Others felt just as strongly:
- “This is dumb.”
- “Gross.”
- “Stale and lame.”
- “Hat. Now.”
- “I no longer seek out the post win presentation.”
- “What’s the return policy on belt.”
- “Belt sucks.”
- “Bring back Davy.”
- “Sorry guys. I’m Not digging the belt.”
- “How is a fake wrestling belt better and more on brand than the hat?”
- “#BoycottTheBelt.”
Indeed, where’s the sense of tradition, one of the sport’s touchstones? What’s next? Giving Buoy a makeover and nose job? Giving Kraken players garden rakes to yeet after home games? The belt has co-branding from the NHL and wrestling company WWE, so maybe that had something to do with the switch. In any case, we can only imagine the inter-office communication at Kraken HQ.
From: Kraken Marketing
To: Kraken Hockey Ops
Subject: Why are you trying to kill us?
Guys,
You know we’re not selling out anymore. We’re running ads and promotions like crazy to fill seats and attract eyeballs to our new TV network.
Why would you replace a beloved Day 1 winning tradition with a trinket anyone can purchase on Ebay for $184.90? We’re getting “New Coke” vibes here in marketing.
Actually, the Kraken need only ask one of their corporate partners for a disastrous lesson learned why “new” doesn’t always mean “better.” In 1988, Alaska Airlines had the bright idea to freshen its logos, and in the process dispense with the iconic indigenous man’s face which had graced its vertical tails for 16 years.
The backlash was so intense, the airline eventually had to relent. As the New York Times reported, “An attempt to remove him was dropped after it raised a storm of protests. The state senate even passed a ‘Don’t Touch the Eskimo‘ resolution.”
Hmmm. Wait a minute. Is it possible the Kraken are actually playing 4-D chess with all of us? After all, when Alaska Airlines first returned the parka-wearing face to its aircraft, they attached a speech bubble with the word “Thanks” next to his mouth. This drew smiles from the public, acclaim, and positive press.
Similarly, Coca-Cola bent to consumer will in 1985 and brought what they dubbed at the time “Classic Coke” back to store shelves – the product now is once again sold simply as “Coke,” kids. The media coverage was roughly equivalent to a moon landing, and some credited the episode for reviving a product that had been losing market share.
So who’s to say someday soon before a game at Climate Pledge Arena, CEO Tod Leiweke won’t wheel a table hiding a covered item out to center ice. With a magician’s flourish, he’ll remove a large swath of fabric, revealing the return of the Davy Jones Hat. The crowd will go wild, hockey media will eat it up, and the reversal will be hailed as “Save of the Year,” studied in marketing classes for years to come.
Oh, and if the Seahawks ever announce they’re changing their branding to “14s,” I would be skeptical.