Ranking NHL Markets

[BoKnows]

I wanted to make this list for fun.  It's obviously subjective, and I purposely left the Canucks out cause of bias.  These rankings are based off of a couple factors (Attendance, tradition, etc).  Feel free to discuss and criticize my rankings below!

Attendance based off of this: http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance

 

30: New York Islanders

A historic team, but in the last few years have struggled to bring fans to games despite some success.

 

29: Florida Panthers

At this point I think it's safe to say that Miami is not a hockey market.  Seems to be always in the basement when it comes to Attendance.

 

28: Arizona Coyotes

Arena problems, non-traditional market, and empty seats.  Would like to see them relocate to Houston, or Milwaukee(?).

 

27: Carolina Hurricanes

Trending upwards with success.  Can a successful decade make Carolina a bonafide hockey market?  In previous seasons finished last in attendance.

 

26: Ottawa Senators

Poor ownership, poor arena location, poor attendance.  Sad to see a Canadian market struggle like Ottawa.

 

25: New Jersey Devils

Lack of fan support in recent years.  No longer a powerhouse team.

 

24: Colorado Avalanche

For over ten years now have been at the bottom of the league for home attendance percentage.

 

23: Columbus Blue Jackets

Have struggled with attendance.  With last years success they still struggle to sell tickets.

 

22: Anaheim Ducks

Have had some attendance success over the last ten years.  There is no real hockey tradition in Anaheim though.

 

21: Buffalo Sabres

Football town first, hockey second.  Have been horrible for almost a decade, fans are losing interest.

 

20: Vegas Golden Knights

Too new to put any higher, too successful to put any lower.  Will the fans stick around once the team is no longer wildly successful?

 

19: San Jose

Have been quite successful this past decade.  Fans do show up, San Jose as a market is trending up.

 

18: Dallas Stars

Dallas fans consistently show up.  This past Winter Classic shows that there are hockey fans in Texas, and a lot of them.

 

17: Nashville Predators

Not too long ago they would be last on this list.  Hockey seems to be growing rapidly in Tennessee.  Bonus points for Smashville!  Definitely trending upwards rapidly.

 

16: St. Louis Blues

A historic team.  Will winning the Stanley Cup help build a strong hockey culture in Missouri?  Will always be a baseball city first.

 

15: Los Angeles Kings

The best out of the three California teams.  Have consistently sold out this previous decade.  Will hockey become popular in Cali?

 

14: Philadelphia Flyers

Another historic franchise.  Philadelphia is definitely a hockey town.

 

13: Calgary Flames

Second Canadian team to appear on the list.  Strong hockey culture, needs a new arena though.

 

12: Minnesota Wild

The hockey state.  Hockey is in their DNA.

 

11: Edmonton Oilers

One of the most historic teams in the league.  With their recent struggles attendance has dipped a little.

 

10: Tampa Bay Lightning

One the NHL's success stories.  We can safely say that Tampa is now a hockey town.  The Lighting have worked hard to grow their brand and become a bonafide hockey market.

 

9: New York Rangers

Original 6 team.  New York is one of the best hockey markets.

 

8: Washington Capitals

People in DC have been hockey crazy as a long as I can remember.  I believe this will be a hockey market long after Ovi retires.

 

7: Boston Bruins

A sports-crazy city.  They love their Bruins.  Boston has always been an excellent hockey market and always will be.

 

6: Pittsburgh Penguins

They have been spoiled with the likes of Jagr, Lemieux, Crosby, and Malkin.  Excellent hockey culture.  Pittsburgh is a hockey hotbed.

 

5: Winnipeg Jets

They love hockey in Winnipeg.  Sell out every game, and have tradition.  The Jets are here to stay.

 

4: Chicago Blackhawks

Sellout every game, original 6 team, and successful.

 

3: Detroit Red Wings

Hockey Town.  They're successful, and have tradition.  There's an unbelievable hockey culture in Detroit.

 

2: Toronto Maple Leafs

Original six, Canadian, and hockey crazy.  It seems like not one day passes without Canadian media mentioning the Maple Leafs.

 

1: Montreal Canadiens

This one is self explanatory.

 

Where would you guys place the Canucks on the list?

 

[Baer.]

11-13 range

[luckylager]

I'd put us between Tampa and NYR

[BrockBoester]

 

5 hours ago, BoKnows said:

Where would you guys place the Canucks on the list?

 

First obviously

Edited January 4, 2020 by BrockBoester

[BoKnows]

2 hours ago, luckylager said:

I'd put us between Tampa and NYR

 

3 hours ago, Baer. said:

11-13 range

I would say 11.

[milk and honey]

7 hours ago, BoKnows said:

I wanted to make this list for fun.  It's obviously subjective, and I purposely left the Canucks out cause of bias.  These rankings are based off of a couple factors (Attendance, tradition, etc).  Feel free to discuss and criticize my rankings below!

Attendance based off of this: http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance

 

30: New York Islanders

A historic team, but in the last few years have struggled to bring fans to games despite some success.

 

29: Florida Panthers

At this point I think it's safe to say that Miami is not a hockey market.  Seems to be always in the basement when it comes to Attendance.

 

28: Arizona Coyotes

Arena problems, non-traditional market, and empty seats.  Would like to see them relocate to Houston, or Milwaukee(?).

 

27: Carolina Hurricanes

Trending upwards with success.  Can a successful decade make Carolina a bonafide hockey market?  In previous seasons finished last in attendance.

 

26: Ottawa Senators

Poor ownership, poor arena location, poor attendance.  Sad to see a Canadian market struggle like Ottawa.

 

25: New Jersey Devils

Lack of fan support in recent years.  No longer a powerhouse team.

 

24: Colorado Avalanche

For over ten years now have been at the bottom of the league for home attendance percentage.

 

23: Columbus Blue Jackets

Have struggled with attendance.  With last years success they still struggle to sell tickets.

 

22: Anaheim Ducks

Have had some attendance success over the last ten years.  There is no real hockey tradition in Anaheim though.

 

21: Buffalo Sabres

Football town first, hockey second.  Have been horrible for almost a decade, fans are losing interest.

 

20: Vegas Golden Knights

Too new to put any higher, too successful to put any lower.  Will the fans stick around once the team is no longer wildly successful?

 

19: San Jose

Have been quite successful this past decade.  Fans do show up, San Jose as a market is trending up.

 

18: Dallas Stars

Dallas fans consistently show up.  This past Winter Classic shows that there are hockey fans in Texas, and a lot of them.

 

17: Nashville Predators

Not too long ago they would be last on this list.  Hockey seems to be growing rapidly in Tennessee.  Bonus points for Smashville!  Definitely trending upwards rapidly.

 

16: St. Louis Blues

A historic team.  Will winning the Stanley Cup help build a strong hockey culture in Missouri?  Will always be a baseball city first.

 

15: Los Angeles Kings

The best out of the three California teams.  Have consistently sold out this previous decade.  Will hockey become popular in Cali?

 

14: Philadelphia Flyers

Another historic franchise.  Philadelphia is definitely a hockey town.

 

13: Calgary Flames

Second Canadian team to appear on the list.  Strong hockey culture, needs a new arena though.

 

12: Minnesota Wild

The hockey state.  Hockey is in their DNA.

 

11: Edmonton Oilers

One of the most historic teams in the league.  With their recent struggles attendance has dipped a little.

 

10: Tampa Bay Lightning

One the NHL's success stories.  We can safely say that Tampa is now a hockey town.  The Lighting have worked hard to grow their brand and become a bonafide hockey market.

 

9: New York Rangers

Original 6 team.  New York is one of the best hockey markets.

 

8: Washington Capitals

People in DC have been hockey crazy as a long as I can remember.  I believe this will be a hockey market long after Ovi retires.

 

7: Boston Bruins

A sports-crazy city.  They love their Bruins.  Boston has always been an excellent hockey market and always will be.

 

6: Pittsburgh Penguins

They have been spoiled with the likes of Jagr, Lemieux, Crosby, and Malkin.  Excellent hockey culture.  Pittsburgh is a hockey hotbed.

 

5: Winnipeg Jets

They love hockey in Winnipeg.  Sell out every game, and have tradition.  The Jets are here to stay.

 

4: Chicago Blackhawks

Sellout every game, original 6 team, and successful.

 

3: Detroit Red Wings

Hockey Town.  They're successful, and have tradition.  There's an unbelievable hockey culture in Detroit.

 

2: Toronto Maple Leafs

Original six, Canadian, and hockey crazy.  It seems like not one day passes without Canadian media mentioning the Maple Leafs.

 

1: Montreal Canadiens

This one is self explanatory.

 

Where would you guys place the Canucks on the list?

 

Some of the bottom ranked teams lack attendance due to bad hockey teams but also due to other leagues playing during our season. For example buffalo. Bills till December will always be the main attraction. Those tickets aren't cheap either. 

 

Others like Miami have the heat 98% of the year including playoffs if both make it. 

 

Arenas are hard to comment since if I'm being honest I only know 10 at tops arenas from the outside. No idea on food quality and pricing to. Like a lot of given factors towards atmosphere of the arena. By far the most needed thing is quality product aka players. I think we can see it with whitecaps or lions. We love all our sports but even when the Canucks suck they own such a big chuck of the entertainment market that when people lose focus they choose not to go to caps or lion games.  

 

Now to be fair whitecaps and lions have sucked as of late but Canucks games are mostly sold out. While caps used to be and are now rarely sold out.  Main point im making is ownership and management gotta make the on ice or field or whatever quality. The rest of it comes 2nd. If players work hard and have really likable personalities and cool hair or something. Then advertising and reaching out is easiler.  

 

I agree with your list. Canucks are 8th-13depending how good we are. When we made the Finals we were top 5 but that's because the hype was real

[BoKnows]

7 hours ago, milk and honey said:

Some of the bottom ranked teams lack attendance due to bad hockey teams but also due to other leagues playing during our season. For example buffalo. Bills till December will always be the main attraction. Those tickets aren't cheap either. 

 

Others like Miami have the heat 98% of the year including playoffs if both make it. 

 

Arenas are hard to comment since if I'm being honest I only know 10 at tops arenas from the outside. No idea on food quality and pricing to. Like a lot of given factors towards atmosphere of the arena. By far the most needed thing is quality product aka players. I think we can see it with whitecaps or lions. We love all our sports but even when the Canucks suck they own such a big chuck of the entertainment market that when people lose focus they choose not to go to caps or lion games.  

 

Now to be fair whitecaps and lions have sucked as of late but Canucks games are mostly sold out. While caps used to be and are now rarely sold out.  Main point im making is ownership and management gotta make the on ice or field or whatever quality. The rest of it comes 2nd. If players work hard and have really likable personalities and cool hair or something. Then advertising and reaching out is easiler.  

 

I agree with your list. Canucks are 8th-13depending how good we are. When we made the Finals we were top 5 but that's because the hype was real

That's true, but an unsuccessful Canadiens team will be more popular than a successful Panthers team 9 times out of ten.

[Lafayettecrossbar]

The New York Islanders might get a bad rap but I think they deserve more credit. They've had lots of success (like Detroit, as your criteria suggested) in the past and have a large and knowledgeable fan base. The ownership and arena issues in past years may have sullied their reputation in some ways but once they sort out a new building they'll become successful again. Barclays is in an inconvenient part of the city for, what I would expect, most Isles fans to be travelling to. 

 

I went to a game in Brooklyn 3 years ago and sat next to a Penguins fan season-ticket holder from Long Island. We chatted a bit and he knew lots about the Canucks prospects and was an all around nice dude. The arena is not ideal but I had a great time. And I wished I knew more about the Pens prospects to chat about! 

[BoKnows]

46 minutes ago, Lafayettecrossbar said:

The New York Islanders might get a bad rap but I think they deserve more credit. They've had lots of success (like Detroit, as your criteria suggested) in the past and have a large and knowledgeable fan base. The ownership and arena issues in past years may have sullied their reputation in some ways but once they sort out a new building they'll become successful again. Barclays is in an inconvenient part of the city for, what I would expect, most Isles fans to be travelling to. 

 

I went to a game in Brooklyn 3 years ago and sat next to a Penguins fan season-ticket holder from Long Island. We chatted a bit and he knew lots about the Canucks prospects and was an all around nice dude. The arena is not ideal but I had a great time. And I wished I knew more about the Pens prospects to chat about! 

It felt weird weird putting them last.  It just seems that most fans have been disengaged for a while, plus the arena issues.  It's not a great combo to have.

[JeremyCuddles]

8 hours ago, BoKnows said:

That's true, but an unsuccessful Canadiens team will be more popular than a successful Panthers team 9 times out of ten.

Montreal's popularity at the team's lowest would never fall below Florida even at their highest. I'd say 10 times outta 10 they would be more popular even if the sucked really bad.

Edited January 5, 2020 by N7Nucks

[iinatcc]

LA Kings is too high especially if you consider this 

 

[GB5]

I think the Canucks would slip into the top 10. 

 

Unlike some of the American teams (i.e. Pittsburgh and Tampa) we have solid support regardless of how well or poorly the team is doing.

 

Same goes for Edmonton, those folks go to games and cheer for their team despite the losing ways of their team.

[J-Dizzle]

I’m gonna say you’ve got the centre of the universe too high.... not just because I hate the Leafs - which I do - but because I think they have the same problem Vancouver does...their games attract a lot of casual fans rather than diehards and that leads to less atmosphere. 
 

I should say I think both probably jump significantly in the post season...just don’t think they’ve got the jam a Winnipeg or Boston does during the regular season. 

[McBackup]

It really depends what your criteria is. Probably top 5, definitely top 10. Despite the protests of the self-flagellating, obnoxious, holier-than-thou Canucks "fans", Vancouver is an excellent hockey market.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Bitter Melon

[IBatch]

On 1/7/2020 at 11:03 PM, J-Dizzle said:

I’m gonna say you’ve got the centre of the universe too high.... not just because I hate the Leafs - which I do - but because I think they have the same problem Vancouver does...their games attract a lot of casual fans rather than diehards and that leads to less atmosphere. 
 

I should say I think both probably jump significantly in the post season...just don’t think they’ve got the jam a Winnipeg or Boston does during the regular season. 

Perhaps at the same ratio.  But with 7.5 in TO and 14 to draw from just in Ontario,  original six team with fans all over the place  etc, they have 75k fans going to watch each game inside their arena and outside watching on the big screen win or lose, year after year.   They unfortunately, probably deserve the number one spot and bump MTL to two. NYR should also be just after either one of these teams.  

 

Two important  things to look at when making this list should be attendance and team value.  The value gives an indication of how much merchandise and their market share between the 31 on teams etc.   It's very arbitrary and some markers are more fickle then others - ours is definitely more fickle then TO.   Pens almost went bankrupt three times - what will happen after Crosby goes (Mario saved them twice - will Crosby do the same ha ha)?   Anyways it's just for fun but Ontario is filled with Maple Leaf sweaters except near OTT...but you still see them even here. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by IBatch

[IBatch]

The list is a bit hay-wire....

 

What is considered the best market anyways?   It really should be based mostly on the value of the team - that is what their revenue is and market share more then anything - with attendance also coming into consideration given that some tickets cost a heck of a lot more....but what people are spending their bucks on matters and it does show who's who from that standpoint.  NYI would be 18 strictly from that standpoint and the list looks nothing like the OPs...

 

Based purely on value Vancouver sits at 10.   LA sits at five, CHI 4 etc its a what have you done lately business for most teams including us.  With the exception of NYR, TO and MTL which are always the top three valued teams.  

Edited January 9, 2020 by IBatch

[J-Dizzle]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

Perhaps at the same ratio.  But with 7.5 in TO and 14 to draw from just in Ontario,  original six team with fans all over the place  etc, they have 75k fans going to watch each game inside their arena and outside watching on the big screen win or lose, year after year.   They unfortunately, probably deserve the number one spot and bump MTL to two. NYR should also be just after either one of these teams.  

 

Two important  things to look at when making this list should be attendance and team value.  The value gives an indication of how much merchandise and their market share between the 31 on teams etc.   It's very arbitrary and some markers are more fickle then others - ours is definitely more fickle then TO.   Pens almost went bankrupt three times - what will happen after Crosby goes (Mario saved them twice - will Crosby do the same ha ha)?   Anyways it's just for fun but Ontario is filled with Maple Leaf sweaters except near OTT...but you still see them even here. 

I agree with your assessment it were basing it off of the criteria you gave.  As the op mentioned...this is a bit subjective. For me I have a different criteria.  Atmosphere is more important than attendance.  I think the Leafs - while at the top on attendance/fan base size/merch sales lack the atmosphere other original 6 teams have. 

[Ronaldoescobar]

15-20 range

[brilac]

I would place the Canucks at #6 on the list behind the Winnipeg Jets.  Montreal., yeah, that's #1.  Have you been to the Bell Centre when they are playing??!!!!!!!!!  Yeah 

[skolozsy2]

On 1/4/2020 at 7:26 PM, milk and honey said:

 

 

Others like Miami have the heat 98% of the year including playoffs if both make it. 

To add on to what you're saying about the Panthers being in competition with the Heat, but they also compete against the Dolphins....and both those teams have the advantage of actually being in Miami.  Sunrise, where the Panthers play, is nowhere near Miami, it's about an hours drive north of it.  And there is only like one road to get in and out of that arena.  That team is screwed logistically. 

 

Going to a Panthers game from Miami can only be described as a hassle. I can totally understand why nobody wants to go to the game.  For anyone who plans on attending a Panthers game, stay in Ft. Lauderdale, hotels are half the price and it's a 15 minute drive.