SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 26: Riley Sheahan #15 of the Seattle Kraken slides for the puck against Tucker Poolman #3 of the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of a preseason game at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on September 26, 2021 in Spokane, Washington.
Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesIt hasn't been long since the NHL added a new team; the Vegas Golden Knights debuted in 2017. But it has been a while since Seattle got a new professional sports franchise — both the Mariners and Seahawks showed up in 1977 — and that's exactly why the arrival of the Seattle Kraken is such a big deal.
The Kraken host their first home game ever against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. PST at the Climate Pledge Arena. While the Kraken come into the home opener with a 1-3-1 record after playing five games on the road to kick off their inaugural season, that hasn't slowed the local hype.
If you can't score tickets to the home opener, there's only one place to stream the Kraken home opener: ESPN+.
Although the NHL returns to ESPN for the 2021-22 season for the first time since before the 2004-05 lockout, certain games will be available only to stream on ESPN+ and not on your normal cable channels. The Kraken home opener is one of those games.
The ESPN+ exclusives are a clear way to drive people to sign up for ESPN+, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. ESPN+'s pricing depends on whether you pay monthly or yearly, and if you subscribe to just ESPN+ or bundle it with Hulu and Disney+.
Upcoming Kraken games on ESPN+
Again, the home opener is the crown jewel for the Emerald City, but it's not the only Kraken game exclusive to ESPN+. Upcoming ESPN+ only games include:
- Nov. 9: Seattle vs. Vegas
- Nov. 19: Colorado vs. Seattle
- Dec. 21: Arizona vs. Seattle
- Jan. 4, 2022: NY Islanders vs. Seattle
- Jan. 25, 2022: Nashville vs. Seattle
- March 25, 2022: Seattle vs. Anaheim
Long list short: If you don't want to miss a Kraken game during the inaugural season, you'll need ESPN+.
ESPN+ price
If you want to subscribe to just ESPN+, plans start at $6.99 per month, or to save a few bucks, $69.99 per year. The yearly plan comes out to $5.83 per month for those who don't have a calculator handy.
Your subscription comes with all those NHL games, plus La Liga, the Bundesliga and UFC, just to name a few. ESPN+ has a bunch of original programming, too, but if you're jonesing for live sports, it's slowly becoming a huge place for that.
Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ bundle price
Bundling ESPN+ with other services will obviously cost more, but you also get a lot more. The Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ package costs $13.99 per month. Along with getting the aforementioned sports programming in ESPN+, you'll also get all the Disney+ offerings, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, everything Star Wars and, of course, Disney animated movies.
Where to stream ESPN+
If you've got a mobile device, tablet or TV, chances are it works with ESPN+. Those include Apple, Android, and Amazon Fire devices, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Oculus Go.
Oh, and if you want to get all decked out in Kraken gear — even if you're on your sofa — check out all the Kraken merch available now.