Elvis was in the building for Knights-Kraken Winter Classic

SEATTLE — The Winter Classic featured a matchup unlike any other in NHL history.

Elvises vs. fishermen.

That’s at least how the two teams arrived to the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park on Monday for the league’s annual outdoor game on New Year’s Day.

The Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, in keeping with Winter Classic tradition, rode the bus to the rink in coordinated outfits to add extra pizzazz to the proceedings.

The Knights showed up in matching Elvis Presley costumes featuring white jumpsuits, black wigs and sunglasses. It’s not the only time the team has paid tribute to the rock-and-roll legend. The Knights gave out an Elvis wig and glasses to their player of the game after every win last season.

Defenseman Alec Martinez was the mastermind behind the look, according to teammates Keegan Kolesar and Zach Whitecloud.

“I thought it was perfect,” Whitecloud said. “I mean, it’s literally Vegas.”

Kolesar’s vote for best Elvis impersonator went to left wing Paul Cotter. Kolesar joked Cotter didn’t even need to wear a wig to pull off Elvis’ signature hairstyle.

“That’s just naturally his hair,” Kolesar said. “He was pretty spot on.”

The Kraken arrived in bright orange overalls in homage to the fishmongers at Seattle’s famous Pike Place Fish Market next to the Puget Sound.

Some of the players even carried fake fish with them to toss to fans like the vendors do at the shop.

The Knights coaches weren’t able to dress to impress the same way.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said there was an idea for a special hat that would tie Las Vegas and the game’s baseball backdrop together, but it didn’t happen. The coaches wore Knights ballcaps and lettermen jackets on the bench instead.

“We’re disappointed in ourselves that we didn’t pull it off,” Cassidy said. “I’m not a big fashion guy anyway, but we tried. We had a good idea. It fell through.”

Player intros

The Kraken’s entrance to T-Mobile Park might rival the Knights’ at T-Mobile Arena for the best in the NHL.

Seattle came out of the home dugout with rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot performing a special rendition of his song “Jump on It.” Fire shot out of wooden docks as the Kraken walked toward the rink, and people dressed as Pike Place Fish Market workers tossed fake fish over their heads.

It wasn’t the only unique touch for the Winter Classic.

Seattle band Heart performed its songs “Barracuda” and “Magic Man” during the first intermission.

To the victor…

Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord walked away with more than just the first shutout in Winter Classic history.

He was given the Cocoa Cup, the new trophy given to the game’s MVP. The award is a giant white mug with hot chocolate and a game puck exploding out of it.

It was designed to pay tribute to one of the beverages that kept players warm when they were playing on outdoor rinks growing up. Daccord’s only disappointment upon receiving the trophy on the TNT postgame show is that it didn’t contain actual hot chocolate.

“Do I get some cocoa?” Daccord said. “Where is it?”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on X.