Analyzing NHL attendance trends halfway through 2025-26 season
Montreal leads in overall attendance, while San Jose has seen the biggest year-on-year improvement this season
The NHL seems to be having a moment right now. Hockey in general has been on a lot more people’s radars — at least in the United States — than it previously was thanks in part to last year’s breakout success of the 4 Nations Tournament. And next month NHL stars will head to Italy for the Winter Olympics, which will mark the first time NHLers will have been allowed to play in the winter games since 2014. American fans will keenly be watching to see of their team can avenge the 4 Nations loss to Canada in the final.
So as the NHL season heads into the new year it gives us a chance to check in on some trends of interest. We’re about halfway through the 2025-26 campaign, so for this post I wanted to look at how each team’s home attendance numbers have shaped up in the first half of the season.
Viewership numbers for the NHL have seen a bit of a bounce back this year back after reports of lackluster numbers for the main U.S. broadcasters TNT and ESPN last season, perhaps due to momentum from those marquee events1.
So how has it translated into attendance numbers for NHL teams2?
The Montreal Canadiens — as they often do — lead the league in average attendance with nearly 21,000 fans packing Bell Centre every night. This shouldn’t come as a surprise in hockey-mad Quebec where Habs fans show up no matter where their team is in the standings. It also doesn’t hurt they have the largest arena by capacity in the league.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are second averaging about 19,500 fans in their building every night. It’s an impressive feat to see a Miami-based team near the top of an attendance list like this, let alone one focused on ice hockey3. It goes to show that winning is the main thing that matters for fans to show up.
Other teams that shouldn’t be a surprise to appear near the top include some of those in hockey hotbeds like Detroit, Toronto and Vancouver. Others include teams from non-traditional hockey locales but that have fielded winning teams in recent years such as Vegas, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Colorado. The Golden Knights for their part are actually selling out more than 102% of their building on a given night, according to data from Hockey Reference4.
Check out the full list below:
The San Jose Sharks are still second lowest in the league in percent capacity filled at 88% of total seats, but they’ve seen the largest year-over-year increase in attendance of any team in the NHL, according to The Athletic. The average team is playing at 96% capacity, which is slightly higher than historical averages.
Last year, San Jose drew crowds of around 10,000 during seven of its first 13 home games, and were the only team in the NHL selling at less than 80 percent of its capacity throughout the 2024-25 season. This year, though, the SAP Center has yet to dip below 12,000 fans for a Sharks game and has already sold out several times including this weekend’s comeback against Dallas.
I’ve been to several games at the Shark Tank this year and the atmosphere is noticeably better thanks to the exhilarating play of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and the other young stars San Jose has brought in to turn the franchise around. A potential playoff run could have the Tank back to the old days of being one of the most intimidating buildings in the league.
The Chicago Blackhawks have been among the most disappointing teams despite being near the top of this list. Their ranking as eight in overall attendance is buoyed by the fact the United Center is the fourth largest barn in the NHL, but they’re only averaging 93% of available seats being filled, which is a large decline from expectations in the prior decade where they were regularly selling out the building every game. Three Stanley Cups in six years helps.
The Lightning are averaging just 94% capacity as well despite having the second largest arena in the NHL. I expect their numbers to increase throughout the season though, as they’re proving they once again are Stanley Cup contenders this season, unlike the Hawks who aren’t expected to even sniff the playoffs.
Meanwhile the relocated and newly named Utah Mammoth are selling out their increased capacity at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (now 12,748 but projected to get to 17,000 in the coming years due to renovations). Hockey in Utah has been a resounding success so far and the fanbase was recently rewarded with next year’s Winter Classic which will be played at the University of Utah’s stunning outdoor football stadium.
Stanley Cup Odds
Checking in on the latest odds to win the Cup….
The Avalanche are having another stellar season, and bookmakers are rewarding them for it. They have an average implied probability of 23% to win the Stanley Cup; the next closest team is the Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes at under 10 percent. No matter what metric you look at, the Avs are leading the league in it — goal differential, expected goals, shots on goal, scoring chances, Hockey-Reference’s SRS, etc.
As always thanks for reading, and happy New Year!
Although a lot of that can also be explained by Nielsen’s recent methodological changes in how they measure live sports viewership.
The Panthers hosted the NHL Winter Classic outdoors at the Miami Marlins’ baseball stadium last week, where 36,153 people attended.
The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins played games in Sweden at the beginning of the season.