Getty Seattle Kracken expansion draft picks (L-R) Jordan Eberle, Chris Driedger, Chris Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, Haydn Fleury and Mark Giordano pose after the expansion draft in July.
The Seattle Kraken will play its first game of any kind tonight in its preseason home opener against the Vancouver Canucks.
In the United States, the game (9 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on Root Sports Northwest (in local markets; Kraken broadcast), and it will also stream live on ESPN+ for all out-of-market US viewers.
Here’s a complete rundown of all the different ways you can watch a live stream of the Canucks vs Kraken online, with the options depending on whether or not the game is in your market:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If the Game is in Your Market
DirecTV Stream
Note: This is currently the only streaming service with Root Sports, but FuboTV is adding it before the NHL regular season
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Root Sports Northwest (live in local markets) is included in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Canucks vs Kraken live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
If the Game is Out of Your Market
ESPN+
If you live in the United States but aren’t in the Canucks or Kraken markets, you can watch the game live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ has replaced NHL.TV this year, meaning it will have every out-of-market NHL game during the regular season (and some during the preseason). It also includes at least one exclusive (available in all markets, not televised anywhere else) NHL game per week, as well as other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $6.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month. Separately, the three streaming services would cost a total $20.97 per month, so you’re saving about 33 percent:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the Canucks vs Kraken live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Canucks vs Kraken Preview
Seattle’s NHL debut faces off with the team billed as its natural rival — the Vancouver Canucks.
The Kraken and Canucks can revive a rivalry between the two Pacific Northwest cities, which had professional hockey teams more than a century ago according to The Province’s Steve Ewen. The Seattle Metropolitans and the Vancouver Millionaires played in the 1910s and 1920s, and both were Stanley Cup contenders then, Ewen wrote.
Vancouver’s team folded in 1926, two years after Seattle folded. The Seattle-Vancouver professional hockey rivalry renewed in 1945 with both cities fielding Pacific Coast Hockey League teams. Things evaporated again as Vancouver’s team, the Canucks, became an NHL team in 1970, and the Seattle Totems remained in second-tier leagues and folded in 1975.
Canucks players on Sunday will see one former teammate with the Kraken — forward Kole Lind, who went 28th in the expansion draft. For the Kraken, little is familiar at this point per NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika.
“We know we’re going to be far from a finished product as we hit the ice for the first exhibition game and really all the way through the exhibition season,” Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol said via NHL.com. “We’ll try to add blocks to that foundation every day as we go forward. Whether it’s a practice day or a game day, we’ll try to build a little bit, but we’re not trying to get to the finish line here.”
Vancouver, which finished six games under .500 last season, will look to start strong in the preseason against the Kraken.