Kraken founding owner passes away

The Seattle Kraken have lost one of their own.

Founding owner David Bonderman has passed away at the age of 82, the team announced on Wednesday. Bonderman initially applied to bring an NHL franchise to Seattle back in 2018 before the Kraken became an official club in the league in 2021. In 2022, his daughter also became a co-owner and the executive chair.

Kraken CEO Tim Leiweke released this statement after Bonderman’s passing. Via The Seattle Times:

“David was a visionary; unafraid to take on challenges and make bold decisions,” Leiweke continued. “He was smart, witty, curious, and humble. I will never forget the infamous meeting where David stood up and pointed to the location where a red ‘eye’ should be inserted in the Kraken ‘S,’ and so our brand was born.

I think he was entrepreneur of our age and it’s just going to be kind of sad to celebrate our next series of successes on that arena without ‘Bondo’ being around,” Tim Leiweke said. “But I know for me, I don’t think we have a company today at OVG if it wasn’t for ‘Bondo.’ He meant a great deal for me, hugely inspirational and certainly one of my two or three most important friends and mentors.”

The Kraken have been relatively successful since joining the NHL. They made the conference semifinals in 2023 and only finished one game below .500 last season. Seattle is 14-14-2 so far in 2024-25.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also reacted to the death of Bonderman, who made the game “stronger”:

“A proud alumnus of the University of Washington, in 2018 he brought NHL hockey to the Pacific Northwest, gaining approval from the Board of Governors to establish an expansion franchise in Seattle that would be named the Kraken and begin play in 2021,” Bettman said in a league statement. “Adding David to the Board and the Seattle franchise to the NHL made our League and our game stronger, setting new standards in environmental responsibility and diversity and inclusion.”

Bonderman was the definition of a businessman, serving on the board for countless corporate brands including MGM and General Motors.

May he rest in peace.