NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is confident as ever that the league is in a good place, with no plans to see it expand further in the immediate future.

"We're not in an expansion mode right now," said Bettman on Wednesday, after wrapping up the league's annual GM meetings. "There continues to be a number of people, entities and cities expressing interest in having an NHL franchise where they don't have one, places like Atlanta, like Houston, like Quebec City. But it's not really something, at least right now, that's anywhere close to the front burner for us."

Seattle made its debut on Sunday night with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the preseason opener for both teams. With Seattle's home arena putting the finishing touches on its construction, the Kraken have taken their first preseason on the road to three junior hockey venues in the state.

The expansion Seattle Kraken are shattering NHL jersey sales records.

Sales, in fact, are the highest in league history for a newly released jersey in its first five days of availability, according to the NHL. Which means Seattle jerseys are doing brisker business than the expansion Vegas Golden Knights did when their jerseys were released to the public in 2017.

"Vegas set a pretty high bar. The Kraken are blowing through it, hourly. It's a hot market right now," Brian Jennings, NHL chief brand officer, told ESPN on Tuesday.

The Seattle Kraken have been unleashed.

Chris Driedger is poised to be the Kraken's starting goaltender next season, while the roster is highlighted by former Flames captain Mark Giordano, longtime Islanders winger Jordan Eberle, former Penguins forward Brandon Tanev, a pair of veteran defenseman in Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak and two-time Stanley Cup-champion Yanni Gourde from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The selections were made Wednesday at the expansion draft for the NHL's 32nd franchise, which will begin play this coming season.

The Seattle Kraken will not select Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price in the expansion draft, a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

Price, who just led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final, waived his no-movement clause to become available for the Kraken's expansion draft, which is being held Wednesday night.

The Seattle Kraken used their exclusive negotiating window with unrestricted free agents to start building their roster ahead of Wednesday night's NHL expansion draft reveal.

Sources confirmed to ESPN that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson has agreed to a four-year, $16 million deal with the Kraken and that Florida Panthers goalie Chris Driedger has agreed to a three-year, $10.5 million deal with Seattle.

Both players will count as Seattle's selections from those teams in the expansion draft.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price and St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko were among several star players left exposed in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, as the NHL revealed its teams' protected lists on Sunday.

The Kraken will select one player from 30 NHL teams, as the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt from the draft. The selections will be revealed beginning on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET during a 90-minute special on ESPN2.

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has waived his no-movement clause to be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft next week after approaching the team with the idea, according to multiple reports.

Protected lists from teams are due Saturday. The league is expected to release them at some point this weekend. The draft is Wednesday night.

Seats have been bolted into position throughout the upper deck and into the lower bowl. All the concrete has been poured and on the floor of Climate Pledge Arena, the outline of the rink is waiting to be covered in ice.

Builders say the home for the newest NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken, remains on schedule to be ready by the middle of October, when the NHL season is expected to begin.

The Seattle Kraken have named Dave Hakstol as their first head coach.

Hakstol, 52, was an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past two seasons. He previously coached the Philadelphia Flyers for three and a half seasons, before he was fired in the 2018-19 season. When he was hired by Philadelphia in 2015, Hakstol -- a longtime coach at the University of North Dakota -- became the first coach to jump from the NCAA to the NHL in 33 years.