Attendance is a major factor in the National Hockey League. Ticket sales generate about a third of the league’s revenue to date, which is much higher than other leagues like the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Because of this, important factors like the salary cap are heavily influenced by ticket sales.
The salary cap for each team is projected to increase by four million from $83.5M in 2023–24 to $87.5M in 2024–25. This is a massive jump given the stagnation we’ve seen from the NHL for years. If attendance numbers in the 2023–24 season decline, could that $87.5M number drop? This is definitely something to watch over the course of the season. So, I created an attendance model to track which teams are being attended more than others, with percentages. The model looks at both home and away attendance percentages, so it removes any biases from the equation.
A few things to note. First, the Arizona Coyotes have a capacity of 4,600, so keep that in mind when looking at their attendance figure. Also, four teams (the Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators) went over to Sweden. So, Toronto has two home games in attendance from Sweden, while Minnesota and Detroit both have one home game of attendance impacted there.
Combined average attendance in November
With the calendar turning to December, the numbers for November are ready. Here is the list of combined attendance (home and away values):
| RANK | TEAM | COMBINED AVERAGE ATTENDANCE IN NOVEMBER |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Colorado Avalanche | 101.29% |
| 2nd | Vegas Golden Knights | 100.82% |
| 3rd | New York Rangers | 100.69% |
| 4th | Toronto Maple Leafs | 99.30% |
| 5th | Pittsburgh Penguins | 99.26% |
| 6th | Seattle Kraken | 98.72% |
| 7th | Carolina Hurricanes | 98.66% |
| 8th | Los Angeles Kings | 98.38% |
| 9th | Boston Bruins | 98.23% |
| 10th | New Jersey Devils | 97.93% |
| 11th | Tampa Bay Lightning | 97.91% |
| 12th | Minnesota Wild | 97.44% |
| 13th | Montreal Canadiens | 97.43% |
| 14th | Chicago Blackhawks | 97.37% |
| 15th | Detroit Red Wings | 97.28% |
| 16th | Arizona Coyotes | 97.21% |
| 17th | Nashville Predators | 96.92% |
| 18th | Edmonton Oilers | 96.49% |
| 19th | St Louis Blues | 96.05% |
| 20th | Vancouver Canucks | 95.66% |
| 21st | New York Islanders | 95.53% |
| 22nd | Ottawa Senators | 94.87% |
| 23rd | Anaheim Ducks | 94.74% |
| 24th | Dallas Stars | 94.49% |
| 25th | Calgary Flames | 94.42% |
| 26th | Florida Panthers | 92.45% |
| 27th | Washington Capitals | 93.28% |
| 28th | Philadelphia Flyers | 92.11% |
| 29th | Buffalo Sabres | 91.55% |
| 30th | Columbus Blue Jackets | 91.35% |
| 31st | Winnipeg Jets | 89.57% |
| 32nd | San Jose Sharks | 86.48% |
Three of the top four teams in the league at the top
Well, winning a lot of games certainly seems to help your attendance. As of today, the Avalanche, Golden Knights, and New York Rangers sit fourth, first, and second in the league by points, respectively. Those three teams fall into the top of our November rankings. Whether that’s home attendance or road attendance, people want to see the best teams.
Teams that remained in the same positions as the October rankings: the Toronto Maple Leafs at fourth overall, the Seattle Kraken at sixth overall, and the Anaheim Ducks at 23rd. It’s not a surprise to see the Sharks fall down to 32nd in the league, given their record so far. I wouldn’t be paying any money to watch them, either.
The Flames did see a marginal improvement, from 88.64% in October to 94.42% in November. That jumped them three positions to 25th overall.
Photo from Colorado Avalanche on X
