What NHL Fans Are The Most Engaged?

What NHL Fans Are The Most Engaged?
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While the 2023-24 NHL season has concluded, the excitement of hockey never truly ends atdeereplanet.com .

From speculating about which Canadian team might seize the Stanley Cup next to predicting which NHL coach might be on the chopping block, deereplanet.com is your go-to destination for the latest hockey insights and betting odds fromOntario sportsbooks .

Yet, hockey in Canada encompasses more than just the action on the rink. We are eager to delve into the communities surrounding the 32 NHL teams. To achieve this, we evaluated fan engagement across all fanbases from the past season, examining metrics such as social media following, the percentage of home game attendance, and overall rankings from Reddit.com users in r/NHL.

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Ranking NHL Fan Engagement

Rank

Team

Total Score

1

Vegas Golden Knights

80

2

Pittsburgh Penguins

76

3

Toronto Maple Leafs

68

4

Tampa Bay Lightning

66

5

Washington Capitals

65

6

Boston Bruins

63

7

Montreal Canadiens

62

8

Detroit Red Wings

61

9

Edmonton Oilers

60

10

Vancouver Canucks

59

11

Minnesota Wild

57

12

St. Louis Blues

56

13

Dallas Stars

54

14

New York Rangers

53

15

Nashville Predators

52

16

Seattle Kraken

51

17

Colorado Avalanche

47

18

New York Islanders

45

19

Florida Panthers

44

20

Los Angeles Kings

43

21

Ottawa Senators

41

22

Carolina Hurricanes

40

23

Chicago Blackhawks

39

24

Philadelphia Flyers

35

25

New Jersey Devils

34

26

Calgary Flames

33

27

Anaheim Ducks

30

28

Winnipeg Jets

26

29

Columbus Blue Jackets

24

30

San Jose Sharks

23

31

Buffalo Sabres

16

Sources: Reddit.com and NHL attendance data

Important: The Utah Hockey Club, slated to relocate from Arizona and begin its season in Salt Lake City in 2024-25, has not been included in our rankings.

Check out our reviews ofOntario sports betting apps before the 2024-25 NHL season begins.

Vegas Now A Hockey Haven

Since joining the NHL in 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights have quickly made a name for themselves. They reached the Stanley Cup Final during their very first season and clinched victory in 2023. In their seven years, they have qualified for the playoffs in all but one season, marking them as strong contenders for the upcoming season.NorthStar Bets Ontario Sportsbook Currently, odds of +1300 are available for the Golden Knights to claim their second Stanley Cup title. This places them as the seventh-favored team in the authorized Ontario sports betting market.

The Golden Knights’ on-ice achievements aren't the only highlight. This past season, they averaged an attendance of 18,130 fans across 41 home games held at T-Mobile Arena. While this figure ranked 13th in the NHL, their capacity percentage of 103.6% was only surpassed by the Minnesota Wild, showcasing how effectively they filled the arena on The Strip.

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Penguins Remain A Top Attraction

While the Pittsburgh Penguins are not one of the league's Original Six teams, they boast a rich legacy. Through the prowess of icons like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have claimed five Stanley Cup titles since 1990, a feat unmatched in the last 35 years.

Recent years have not been particularly fruitful for Pittsburgh, having missed playoff qualifications the last two seasons. Nevertheless, with fan favorites like Crosby and Malkin on their roster, the Penguins remain one of the NHL's most beloved franchises. This past season, over 17,900 supporters cheered for the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, achieving an impressive attendance rate of 97.4%.

The Penguins also boast a robust following on social media. Statista reports that the team has nearly 1.9 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter), ranking third among all NHL teams.

Prospects for a sixth Stanley Cup do not seem promising for the Penguins at this moment. Betting odds suggestBetMGM Ontario Sportsbook that place Pittsburgh at +5000 to emerge as the last NHL team standing next season.

Maple Leafs Rake In The Fans

Few franchises can boast fan bases as fervent as theToronto Maple Leafs . As the NHL squad representing Canada’s largest city, they enjoy a following of over 2.1 million on X, second only to the Chicago Blackhawks. Toronto also recorded an eighth-place ranking in average attendance at 18,789, with an impressive 99.8% capacity indicating most games are completely sold out.

What could potentially elevate the Maple Leafs beyond their current third-place standing? Securing their first Stanley Cup since 1967 would certainly mark a significant milestone (for further details, see ourToronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds heading into the 2024-25 season).

In recent times, the Leafs have struggled to find playoff success. While they have made it to the postseason every year since 2017, they have only advanced past the first round on one occasion, and their last appearance in the conference finals was in 2002.

Ontario’s other NHL team, theOttawa Senators , they sit at No. 21 on our engagement rankings for NHL fan bases. The only Canadian team scoring higher on the list is the Montreal Canadiens, which ranks seventh.

Despite the Maple Leafs’ ongoing postseason challenges, betting experts still consider them as formidable contenders for the Stanley Cup.Pinnacle Ontario Sportsbook currently lists Toronto at +1500, representing the eighth most favorable odds on Pinnacle's futures chart.

USA Today photo by Tom Szczerbowski

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Author

Steve Bittenbender

Steve is an esteemed, award-winning journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on gaming, sports, politics, and business. His work has graced the pages of the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square, and various other publications. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Steve has followed the rise of sports betting in the United States and other gaming topics. He shares his insights through OntarioBets and other platforms.

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