Best and Worst NHL Attendance For 2024-25 Season

There are many ways to measure the quality of an NHL fan base: All-Star votes for hometown players, jersey sales, or the number of fights that occur against visiting fans outside the arena. 

Another way to measure this is by determining which stadiums are reaching capacity on a nightly basis. The NHL has released its attendance numbers, and some teams are doing a better job than others at filling their arenas. 

Here’s a ranking of the best and worst average attendance for the 2024-25 season. 

Worst NHL Attendance in 2024-25

32. Utah Mammoth – 11,131

The newly Salt-Laked Utah franchise ranks last in attendance this season, but mainly due to some structural issues with the Delta Center. 

The arena was first built in the 1990s to accommodate the Utah Jazz NBA team so when the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes abruptly moved before the 2024-25 season began, the building wasn’t fully optimized for hockey. 

Delta Center’s capacity is only around 11,130, so their placement at the bottom of the list isn’t supposed to say anything about the enthusiasm of Utah Hockey fans. Summer renovations are intended to increase the hockey capacity of the Delta Center to approximately 17,000 for the upcoming season. 

31. San Jose Sharks – 14,219

Given that they had a 20-50-12 season, it’s reasonable that the Sharks rank near the bottom in attendance this year. 

The SAP Center’s capacity is around 17,400, so they were well below filling their barn for most of the season. The rise of young prospects like Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini should up the excitement for the San Jose fanbase in the years to come, but there hasn’t been too much to warrant a visit to their arena in recent seasons.  

30. Winnipeg Jets – 14,366

Despite a Presidents’ Trophy win this season, Winnipeg was near the bottom of the league for average attendance this year. 

The Jets’ home arena, the Canada Life Centre, has a capacity of 16,345, so they were also well below filling their arena. 

No offense to Winnipeggers, but, during the dead of winter, what else is there to do up there besides going to watch your Presidents Trophy and Hart Trophy winning NHL team? Do you really want your franchise sent back to Atlanta?

29. Anaheim Ducks – 15,806

Over there in Mickey Mouse land, the Ducks were having a hard time filling up their arena. 

Anaheim had a middling 35-37-10 season this year, finishing near the bottom of the Pacific Division. The Ducks haven’t made the playoffs since 2018, when they were swept in the first round by their in-state rival, the San Jose Sharks. 

Anaheim’s Honda Center has a capacity of 17,174. 

28. New York Islanders – 15,979

Well, they ended up with the first overall pick after this season, so hopefully, more fans will show up at the UBS Arena next season. But this past year, the Islanders were near the bottom in attendance. 

New York’s average attendance fell about 2,000 fans short of their arena’s 17,250 capacity. 

The Islanders had a 35-35-12 record this past season. 

Best NHL Attendance in 2024-25

1. Montreal Canadiens – 21,105

The winningest team in NHL history is also the one that consistently gets the most attendance of any team in the league. 

Part of that is because the Bell Centre, Montreal’s home arena, has the NHL’s highest capacity, with 21,273. Even though the Canadiens came in a hair under the capacity for the year’s average attendance, they still rank first.

Montreal’s team is on the come-up right now with a whole host of burgeoning young talent, like Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson. 

They finished the season last year with a 40-31-11 record, qualifying for the playoffs, where they were defeated in the first round by the Washington Capitals. 

2. Detroit Red Wings – 19,345

Despite a somewhat disappointing season for the Red Wings, they’ve still finished near the top of average attendance for another year. 

Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena (pizza, pizza) has a hockey capacity of 19,515, so the Red Wings also didn’t have to be at 100% capacity to still finish high on this list. 

Detroit hasn’t had a playoff appearance in nine years since they were eliminated in the first round by the Lightning. The Red Wings had a 39-35-8 record in the 24-25 season. 

3. Chicago Blackhawks – 19,130

Like the two before it, Chicago takes advantage of the substantial capacity at the United Center, which seats 19,717. Their team also has a rich storied ‘Original Six’ history like the two other teams before it. 

The stadium and history are, essentially, the only things keeping this Blackhawks team afloat. The same goes for their NBA neighbors, the Chicago Bulls, afloat, if we’re being honest. 

They finished with a 25-46-11 record last season. 

4. Tampa Bay Lightning – 19,092

The Lightning managed to achieve 100% average attendance for the 2024-25 season — Amalie Arena in Tampa has a capacity of 19,092 for hockey. 

It was a routine, solid year for the Lightning, who finished with a 47-27-8 record this year. 

Unfortunately for them, though, they fell to their in-state rival Panthers for the second year in a row. Does it make it better or worse, Tampa fans, that you lost to the Stanley Cup winner each year?

5. Florida Panthers – 19,059

The Stanley Cup champion Florida team finished with an average attendance slightly below their capacity of 19,250 at the Amerant Bank Arena. 

Despite being the league’s best team for a few years in a row, their stadium is still representative of the lean years for the Panthers, given that it is kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Florida fans have been wondering whether the Panthers would eventually move to a new arena closer to a population center. For reference, it’s an hour outside of Miami and about half an hour away from Fort Lauderdale. 

Maybe a generational run of multiple Stanley Cup wins could get them some better digs.