Establishment (2018–2022) On December 4, 2018, the
National Hockey League (NHL)
Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve a Seattle NHL expansion team, the
Seattle Kraken, to begin play in the
2021–22 season. The new ownership group then began making plans for acquiring a minor league affiliate in the
American Hockey League (AHL). By early 2019, they had narrowed down their options to promoting the
ECHL's
Idaho Steelheads in
Boise, Idaho, or a new expansion team in the area around
Palm Springs, California. On June 26, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for their AHL affiliate, as the Boise option would require the Steelheads' arena to be revamped. Delays associated with the construction of an arena in the Palm Springs area caused the team's debut to be pushed back to the 2022–23 season. In the meantime, Seattle affiliated with the
Charlotte Checkers for the
2021–22 season, sharing the team with the
Florida Panthers. In November 2021, the new team revealed its name, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as well as its logos and colors, at a ceremony held on the construction site of their new arena. Since the Kraken was a mythical creature, the organization chose another mythical creature for its affiliate. On June 21, 2022,
Dan Bylsma, who had won the
Stanley Cup with the
Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, was named the inaugural
head coach of the Firebirds. The Firebirds signed their first
free agents,
Samuel Bucek and
Ian McKinnon, on July 11. On the day of the Firebirds' first game, October 16,
Max McCormick was announced as the team's
captain, with
Andrew Poturalski and
Gustav Olofsson being named alternate captains.
First seasons (2022–present) The Firebirds played their first game on October 16, 2022, a 6–5 win against the
Calgary Wranglers, and they also won the rematch the next day. During the first stretch of the season later that month, the Firebirds played their home games in the
Seattle metropolitan area, playing four games against the
Abbotsford Canucks and the Wranglers at the
Kraken Community Iceplex and
Climate Pledge Arena in
Seattle, as well as the
Angel of the Winds Arena in
Everett. The Firebirds' first game at Acrisure Arena took place on December 18, a 4–3 win in front of a 10,087-people sellout crowd against the
Tucson Roadrunners, with
Cameron Hughes scoring the first ever home goal for the Firebirds, at the 8:49 mark in the first period. From December 22, 2022, to January 26, 2023, the Firebirds achieved a fourteen-game points streak, the current franchise record. The Firebirds finished the
2022–23 season with 103 points, good for second place of the Pacific Division, behind only the Wranglers, who captured the
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. During the
2023 Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds captured the Western Conference title and advanced to the
Calder Cup Finals, where they faced off against the
Hershey Bears. Goaltender
Joey Daccord recorded back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the series, but the Firebirds fell short of the championship, losing in overtime of game seven. On March 23, 2024, the Firebirds clinched their place in the
2023–24 playoffs following a 4–3
shootout loss against the
San Diego Gulls. It was their second consecutive season with a playoff berth. Eventually, the Firebirds won their first Pacific Division title, earning a
bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs following a 3–1 win on April 10, 2024, over the
Ontario Reign. During the
2024 Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds again captured the Western Conference title and progressed to the Calder Cup Finals, where they once again faced the Hershey Bears. For the second straight season, the Firebirds fell short of the championship, losing in overtime of game six. ==Arena==