A record of more than 1,300 representatives from the NHL’s 32 teams and League offices are in Seattle this week for the NHL Club Business Meetings presented by Ticketmaster, which are hosted by the Seattle Kraken.

“We do annual meetings because it’s really important, not only as we work with all of our teams on a day-to-day basis, but as our peers collaborate around the League, getting together in person has always been incredibly important,” NHL executive vice president of club business affairs Susan Cohig said. “There is so much you can do, sharing information and ideas, talking about challenges, thinking about the future that in-person meetings help facilitate. It’s something we’ve been doing for decades, and they’ve grown considerably in recent years.

“In the last five or six years, we’ve started adding more groups in these annual meetings. So, across the organization we have many more business areas represented than ever before. That’s really why they’ve grown so much and they’re so productive now as a result.”

Seattle is hosting for the first time. The Kraken became the League’s 32nd team when their expansion application was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors on Dec. 4, 2018, and they played their inaugural season in 2021-22.

The Kraken welcomed participants to a celebration at Climate Pledge Arena. The League will host a 5K run/walk along Seattle’s new waterfront park promenade Thursday, and meeting attendees also attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game at T-Mobile Park, the site of the 2024 NHL Discover Winter Classic between the Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights.

The meetings are expected to generate $3.1 million in economic impact for Seattle, according to Visit Seattle, a destination marketing organization.

“Seattle was really important to us,” Cohig said. “It was really a seamless process working with the team, working with the city and working with Visit Seattle to say, ‘What would this experience be,’ knowing the size of the group.”

The seventh annual Stanley Awards winners were also announced at the meetings. The Utah Mammoth (Home Opener Campaign), Winnipeg Jets (Social Media Club of the Year), Detroit Red Wings (Designer Merch Collaboration), Tampa Bay Lightning (Game Presentation of the Year) and St. Louis Blues (Bluesnatics and Blues App, which is focused on a more personalized fan experience through delivery of unique fan journeys, automated rewards, incentives, contests, and crafting memorable moments with the usage of emerging technologies) each won for the first time.

Winners were chosen from a record 146 submissions by an external judging panel consisting of leaders in the sports and entertainment industry. The awards are produced by NHL director of club business affairs Nicole Allison.