Detroit Red Wings accuse the Seattle Kraken of stealing their mascot.

The fans of the Seattle Kraken are already rubbing one team in the National Hockey League the wrong way and as a result we may have the making of the Kraken's very first rivalry in the league.

Over the weekend a picture of some Kraken fans on a yacht went viral when the NHL itself signal boosted a picture of a giant inflated octopus or squid on the yacht, a yacht that was proudly showing off the colors of the Seattle Kraken as well. Of course the connection makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that the Kraken are named after a mythical octopus of legend, but there is another team in the NHL that has already been using an octopus as their mascot for several years.

I am of course referring to the Detroit Red Wings who have long had mascot Al the Octopus and whose fans have long carried on the tradition of throwing an octopus onto the ice after the national anthem is sung or after a particularly big goal for the Red Wings. Red Wings fans were quick to remind both the NHL and the Kraken that they were treading over territory that has already been claimed.

It is one thing if the two sides were using the same animal, but it does seem a little suspicious when you consider the fact that the giant inflatable octopus is the same color purple as the Red Wings mascot. Now I don't believe for a second that the Kraken would have legitimately attempted to steal the Red Wings mascot, but I can certainly see why fans in Detroit would object to the Kraken using a big purple octopus to promote their team given the context of their own mascot.

The response to the NHL however came not from a fan but rather from the Detroit Red Wings themselves. The official account of the Red Wings on twitter has seemingly also taken objection to the Kraken using a very similar mascot to Al the Octopus, even going so far as to suggest that the Kraken should use a squid instead of the octopus that has already been used for years by the Red Wings.

Something tells me we have not heard the last of this.