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NHL regular season attendance winners and losers for the 2016-17 campaign

By Derek Helling

Mar 19, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after Chicago Blackhawks left wing Richard Panik (14) during the third period of the game against the Colorado Avalanche at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after Chicago Blackhawks left wing Richard Panik (14) during the third period of the game against the Colorado Avalanche at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /
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Final attendance numbers for all 30 NHL teams from the recently concluded regular season have been compiled.

Overall, the NHL regular season attendance numbers from around the league for 2016-17 should be encouraging for the league. Half of the league’s teams averaged a sellout, and over a third of the teams’ average attendances improved from 2015-16.

The Chicago Blackhawks led the NHL in average (21,752) and total attendance (891,827) along with percentage of capacity (110.3 percent). Chicago’s average attendance this season was actually a slight decrease (down half of a percent) from the previous season, however.

The team with the biggest jump from 2015-16 was Edmonton. The Oilers’ 2016-17 average attendance was nearly a nine percent jump as compared to the previous season. Columbus’ attendance went up 8.1 percent from 2015-16, just below the Oilers’ 8.9 percent. A third franchise with a significant uptick was San Jose, who enjoyed a 4.5 percent bump.

On the flip side, the Carolina Hurricanes represented the bottom of the league in both average and total attendance. Carolina’s average attendance figure was a meager 63 percent of its capacity and a 3.5 percent decrease from 2015-16.

That wasn’t the worst dip in the league, however. The Avalanche (8.7 percent), Islanders (3.9 percent), Panthers (five percent) and Senators (7.4 percent) all experienced worse decreases.

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Average and total league attendance represented a drop of 0.3 percent from 2015-16, but was still 95.1 percent of the league’s capacity. What could be most intriguing about these figures is that they don’t necessarily reflect ticket prices.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had the league’s highest median ticket price during the past regular season, at $126 US. Despite this, Toronto was fifth in both average and total attendance representing an increase of 0.4 percent from 2015-16, and the Maple Leafs’ average was 102.3 percent of capacity.

The team with the next highest median ticket price was the New York Rangers, just a dollar less than Toronto’s. The Rangers were 17th in attendance this season, although that figure is somewhat misleading because of venue size. The Rangers’ average attendance was 100.1 of capacity.

A cheap ticket didn’t guarantee great attendance this season, and it wasn’t a death sentence either. Florida had the league’s lowest median ticket price at $25, and averaged just 76 percent of capacity. St. Louis had the next least-expensive median at $44, and far outperformed the Panthers in every metric.

What the NHL should take away from the attendance figures this year is that people love hockey, and are willing to pay any price for a winning product.

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