Hockey Attendance Figures, 2006-07

[jkrdevil]

I can assure you that pretty much every seat in Tampa is filled. Sure there might be a few season ticket holders that don't go to a few games but for the most part that building is full for every game. Guess you need a figure out a better way of judging attendance than by just watching highlights where you only see 3 or 4 rows of the crowd.

What is YOUR basis for this? Empty seats on TV are hard to miss. And they're not just the first few rows - they're all over the place.

But, I figured I'd check for myself. I checked Ticketmaster online for Lightning tickets just now (about 14 hours before their upcoming Saturday night game). I was able to find 8 consecutive seats together for every price range but one. In the upper bowl I was able to find 20 seats together.

So, I must conclude that either the Lightning have massive walk-up crowds that fill in all these empty seats, or they simply don't fill the arena the way they claim they do.

Combined with the empty seats on TV, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

From actually going to a few games there over the last two years (as recently as last week during break). Every game I have been two the building is pretty full. Now I didn't say the arena was completely season ticket holders, It's obviously not or I wouldn't have been able to go to the games. However I do know that I need to buy them in advance because I would probably not be able to get a ticket if I walked up to the box office just before Faceoff. So based on my experience there which involve actually being in the arena where I can see the whole arena and not just portions on TV, when you only see portions of the crowd and don't know when exactly some of those area shots of the crowd were taped I can tell you I have no doubt that the Lightning attendance is about what they say.

[CC97]

Giving away free tickets to your population = Good relations with potential fans

These fans not showing up at games even with free tickets = Likely low interest in sport/team with general public

Including these no-shows, non-paid tickets in the same class as showing/paying tickets = misleading

Low interest from general public + Low paid attendance numbers = Potentially poor hockey market

(Potentially poor hockey market + brand new arena + amazing team) * multiple seasons = no excuses.

[IceCap]

See my edit above

I think your point is that you are another one of the "hockey doesn't belong in the hee haw states" crowd and arguing that Nashville isn't worthy.

Nashville isn't worthy. They're one of Bettman's expansion failures. Now before you crucify me as a traditional hockey fan who scuffs at teams south of Philadelphia, actually try to pay attention to my reasoning for why a team in Nashville is a failure, and more importantly, which two non-NHL city would be the best fit for the relocated Predators.

The Predators have been around since 1999, that means the team has had eight years to establish a fan base. Recently they've been to the playoffs the last two seasons. They remind me of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts were a team who struggled, and as a result drew poor attendance numbers. Yet they had been around long enough that when they finally became competitive they drew a crowd and the fan base solidified itself. The team won a Cup, and the fan base has stayed with the team since then, and the Lightning have become one of Bettman's expansion successes.

Now lets look at the Predators. Like the Lightning they've had time to consolidate a fan base, and on top of that they have had a two seasons in a row in which they've made the playoffs (this would be season #3).

On top of that, they are currently 4th place in the West, and only one point behind division and Conference leader Detroit. They even have a brand new arena.

Yet unlike the Lightning, they have failed to turn their success on the ice into interest in the team and sport off the ice. The Lightning were able to solidify their fan base with success on the ice because they had a fan base to solidify. They city had an interest in hockey, they just needed a winning team to act as the catalyst needed to bring the fan base together.

The reason a winning team hasn't been able to do the same for the fan base in Nashville is because no fan base is there to solidify.

Despite only being one point behind the best team in their conference, the team is still 23rd in attendance, and only manages 85% capacity per game. Then you figure into the fact that over 2,000 of the tickets counted at the gate were given away for free (a much higher number then other teams give away), and the Music City looks more like a NHL expansion failure then a success. The team, if it's going to survive, needs a new home.

Now you're probably thinking I'm going to suggest Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hartford, Seattle, Portland, or Hamilton, a list of traditional hockey markets that lack NHL teams.

Yet you would be bead wrong. I think the two best options for both the Predators and the NHL would be Kansas City or Houston, two cities we would both agree are non-traditional hockey markets.

You see both Missouri and Texas are states that have both passed the test for non-traditional markets with flying colours.

The Dallas Stars have a solid fan base that cares passionately about not just the team, but the sport in general.

The St. Louis Blues are a team with a rich history, including three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and a remarkable playoff participant streak. The fans care and the city cares. I'm more then willing to let their recent attendance problems slide due to ownership problems, which in turn led to a poor on ice product.

So the way I see it, Missouri and Texas are both suitable markets for a second NHL teams. Whether in KC or Houston the Predators would be providing a natural intra-state rival for an established franchise. That would not only benefit the teams involved, but the NHL as a whole.

So in closing I ask you to step back and look at the big picture of the mess that is the Predators' stay in Nashville, and realize that people claim them as an off ice failure for more tangible reasons then simply their location on a map.

[rams80]

See my edit above

I think your point is that you are another one of the "hockey doesn't belong in the hee haw states" crowd and arguing that Nashville isn't worthy.

Nashville isn't worthy. They're one of Bettman's expansion failures. Now before you crucify me as a traditional hockey fan who scuffs at teams south of Philadelphia, actually try to pay attention to my reasoning for why a team in Nashville is a failure, and more importantly, which two non-NHL city would be the best fit for the relocated Predators.

The Predators have been around since 1999, that means the team has had eight years to establish a fan base. Recently they've been to the playoffs the last two seasons. They remind me of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts were a team who struggled, and as a result drew poor attendance numbers. Yet they had been around long enough that when they finally became competitive they drew a crowd and the fan base solidified itself. The team won a Cup, and the fan base has stayed with the team since then, and the Lightning have become one of Bettman's expansion successes.

Now lets look at the Predators. Like the Lightning they've had time to consolidate a fan base, and on top of that they have had a two seasons in a row in which they've made the playoffs (this would be season #3).

On top of that, they are currently 4th place in the West, and only one point behind division and Conference leader Detroit. They even have a brand new arena.

Yet unlike the Lightning, they have failed to turn their success on the ice into interest in the team and sport off the ice. The Lightning were able to solidify their fan base with success on the ice because they had a fan base to solidify. They city had an interest in hockey, they just needed a winning team to act as the catalyst needed to bring the fan base together.

The reason a winning team hasn't been able to do the same for the fan base in Nashville is because no fan base is there to solidify.

Despite only being one point behind the best team in their conference, the team is still 23rd in attendance, and only manages 85% capacity per game. Then you figure into the fact that over 2,000 of the tickets counted at the gate were given away for free (a much higher number then other teams give away), and the Music City looks more like a NHL expansion failure then a success. The team, if it's going to survive, needs a new home.

Now you're probably thinking I'm going to suggest Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hartford, Seattle, Portland, or Hamilton, a list of traditional hockey markets that lack NHL teams.

Yet you would be bead wrong. I think the two best options for both the Predators and the NHL would be Kansas City or Houston, two cities we would both agree are non-traditional hockey markets.

You see both Missouri and Texas are states that have both passed the test for non-traditional markets with flying colours.

The Dallas Stars have a solid fan base that cares passionately about not just the team, but the sport in general.

The St. Louis Blues are a team with a rich history, including three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and a remarkable playoff participant streak. The fans care and the city cares. I'm more then willing to let their recent attendance problems slide due to ownership problems, which in turn led to a poor on ice product.

So the way I see it, Missouri and Texas are both suitable markets for a second NHL teams. Whether in KC or Houston the Predators would be providing a natural intra-state rival for an established franchise. That would not only benefit the teams involved, but the NHL as a whole.

So in closing I ask you to step back and look at the big picture of the mess that is the Predators' stay in Nashville, and realize that people claim them as an off ice failure for more tangible reasons then simply their location on a map.

I will, personally agree with you that Nashville is not long for this world, although you have to wonder if part of the reason the fans don't come is because the team is threatening to move (maybe their attendance could be described as "circling the drain").

My point in defending Nashville is that half the time this argument comes up, it is simply because it is in the "hee-haw" states (which appear to be every state West of the Ohio River and South of the Mason-Dixon line with the possible exception of Minnesota, Washington State, and Detroit, which is (technically) North of Canada and gets an exception), and the common perception is that the residents there would prefer to down a fifth of Jack and watch cars go in circles as opposed to hockey.

[IceCap]

See my edit above

I think your point is that you are another one of the "hockey doesn't belong in the hee haw states" crowd and arguing that Nashville isn't worthy.

Nashville isn't worthy. They're one of Bettman's expansion failures. Now before you crucify me as a traditional hockey fan who scuffs at teams south of Philadelphia, actually try to pay attention to my reasoning for why a team in Nashville is a failure, and more importantly, which two non-NHL city would be the best fit for the relocated Predators.

The Predators have been around since 1999, that means the team has had eight years to establish a fan base. Recently they've been to the playoffs the last two seasons. They remind me of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts were a team who struggled, and as a result drew poor attendance numbers. Yet they had been around long enough that when they finally became competitive they drew a crowd and the fan base solidified itself. The team won a Cup, and the fan base has stayed with the team since then, and the Lightning have become one of Bettman's expansion successes.

Now lets look at the Predators. Like the Lightning they've had time to consolidate a fan base, and on top of that they have had a two seasons in a row in which they've made the playoffs (this would be season #3).

On top of that, they are currently 4th place in the West, and only one point behind division and Conference leader Detroit. They even have a brand new arena.

Yet unlike the Lightning, they have failed to turn their success on the ice into interest in the team and sport off the ice. The Lightning were able to solidify their fan base with success on the ice because they had a fan base to solidify. They city had an interest in hockey, they just needed a winning team to act as the catalyst needed to bring the fan base together.

The reason a winning team hasn't been able to do the same for the fan base in Nashville is because no fan base is there to solidify.

Despite only being one point behind the best team in their conference, the team is still 23rd in attendance, and only manages 85% capacity per game. Then you figure into the fact that over 2,000 of the tickets counted at the gate were given away for free (a much higher number then other teams give away), and the Music City looks more like a NHL expansion failure then a success. The team, if it's going to survive, needs a new home.

Now you're probably thinking I'm going to suggest Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hartford, Seattle, Portland, or Hamilton, a list of traditional hockey markets that lack NHL teams.

Yet you would be bead wrong. I think the two best options for both the Predators and the NHL would be Kansas City or Houston, two cities we would both agree are non-traditional hockey markets.

You see both Missouri and Texas are states that have both passed the test for non-traditional markets with flying colours.

The Dallas Stars have a solid fan base that cares passionately about not just the team, but the sport in general.

The St. Louis Blues are a team with a rich history, including three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and a remarkable playoff participant streak. The fans care and the city cares. I'm more then willing to let their recent attendance problems slide due to ownership problems, which in turn led to a poor on ice product.

So the way I see it, Missouri and Texas are both suitable markets for a second NHL teams. Whether in KC or Houston the Predators would be providing a natural intra-state rival for an established franchise. That would not only benefit the teams involved, but the NHL as a whole.

So in closing I ask you to step back and look at the big picture of the mess that is the Predators' stay in Nashville, and realize that people claim them as an off ice failure for more tangible reasons then simply their location on a map.

I will, personally agree with you that Nashville is not long for this world, although you have to wonder if part of the reason the fans don't come is because the team is threatening to move (maybe their attendance could be described as "circling the drain").

My point in defending Nashville is that half the time this argument comes up, it is simply because it is in the "hee-haw" states (which appear to be every state West of the Ohio River and South of the Mason-Dixon line with the possible exception of Minnesota, Washington State, and Detroit, which is (technically) North of Canada and gets an exception), and the common perception is that the residents there would prefer to down a fifth of Jack and watch cars go in circles as opposed to hockey.

I'll be the first to agree that anyone who uses the "hee-haw state" argument is a moron. The Predators are a failure because the city of Nashville just doesn't care about hockey. Their location in a non-traditional market is part of the reason for their failure, but not the whole reason. Non-traditional markets have paid huge dividends in some cases, and they've been failures in others. It's time to move the failing clubs out of their current location and move them to a new city and try to grow the game elsewhere.

[Phil]

Charlie Teljeur of The Instigator. Thought it applied. Continue with your regularly-scheduled discussion.

[CJR]

Charlie Teljeur of The Instigator. Thought it applied. Continue with your regularly-scheduled discussion.

Gah, rip-off. Either ESPN the Magazine or Sports Illustrated did that one a few years ago about the Expos.

[HedleyLamarr]

I think a better way to judge Nashville is by hockey interest overall. Has youth hockey grown there exponentially? (Whoever lives in Nashville or Tennessee would know this best.) Has the team's economic stance improved any since their inception?

Eight years isn't long enough to determine whether or not a franchise can exist in a city. It takes at least one generation cycle (around 10-15 years) before the team has a true base of (in this case, Nashville) Predators-only fans. It took Tampa Bay 13 years before they sold out each game, and this is after the lockout could have killed the momentum of the team's victorious Cup run the season before.

[IceCap]

I think a better way to judge Nashville is by hockey interest overall. Has youth hockey grown there exponentially? (Whoever lives in Nashville or Tennessee would know this best.) Has the team's economic stance improved any since their inception?

Eight years isn't long enough to determine whether or not a franchise can exist in a city. It takes at least one generation cycle (around 10-15 years) before the team has a true base of (in this case, Nashville) Predators-only fans. It took Tampa Bay 13 years before they sold out each game, and this is after the lockout could have killed the momentum of the team's victorious Cup run the season before.

With as well as their doing now, however, you would figure that their attendance numbers would be higher, just based on the bandwagon effect alone. The fact that this hasn't happened proves that general interest in hockey isn't at the level a city needs top support a NHL team.

*It's made even worse that there's almost nothing else going on in Nashville sports-wise. They don't have a NBA or MLB team, they don't have a team in the Final Four, and the Titans don't even start training camp until July.

So aside from the Arena League Nashville Kats, the Preds have the city all to themselves, and are one of their conference's best teams at that. And yet they only fall in at #23 attendance wise, and give away 2,600 free tickets away. If that's not failing as a hockey market then I don't know what is.

[HedleyLamarr]

I think a better way to judge Nashville is by hockey interest overall. Has youth hockey grown there exponentially? (Whoever lives in Nashville or Tennessee would know this best.) Has the team's economic stance improved any since their inception?

Eight years isn't long enough to determine whether or not a franchise can exist in a city. It takes at least one generation cycle (around 10-15 years) before the team has a true base of (in this case, Nashville) Predators-only fans. It took Tampa Bay 13 years before they sold out each game, and this is after the lockout could have killed the momentum of the team's victorious Cup run the season before.

With as well as their doing now, however, you would figure that their attendance numbers would be higher, just based on the bandwagon effect alone. The fact that this hasn't happened proves that general interest in hockey isn't at the level a city needs top support a NHL team.

*It's made even worse that there's almost nothing else going on in Nashville sports-wise. They don't have a NBA or MLB team, they don't have a team in the Final Four, and the Titans don't even start training camp until July.

So aside from the Arena League Nashville Kats, the Preds have the city all to themselves, and are one of their conference's best teams at that. And yet they only fall in at #23 attendance wise, and give away 2,600 free tickets away. If that's not failing as a hockey market then I don't know what is.

Now make an arguement that takes place outside of the arena.

Has youth hockey grown in Nashville? If so, it can be argued that games/practice for the kids can hurt weekday sales. (Again, I need a local to discuss this aspect.)

What's the general make-up of Nashville's population: Are the transplants relocating from Northern cities, or is Nashville a prodominately home-grown population? Teams like Dallas, Tampa, Atlanta, etc. have benefitted from having transplanted Northerners with a fandom of another team and halving alligiences with the team they currently live at.

How's the general economy of Nashville, and is it on the up- or down-swing? I get to see a couple of Predators games on FSN South at 3am, and a couple of their players are appearing in commercials for small Mom&Pop businesses. Either the Preds have a ton of sponsors, or these small businesses are the bulk of their advertising and sponsoring.

How well is the game of hockey in Nashville, outside of game attendance? Has the average attendance grown in the past few seasons? How well are the Predators drawing on weekend games? If the game is growing there, the fanbase will grow, and the attendance will grow as well. Again, growing a natural fanbase takes longer than eight years.

[gojetsgo]

Here are the REAL interesting numbers. The numbers that ACTUALLY count.

Here's average comp tickets per game this season between Oct 4 to Jan 31.

Source - Globe and Mail Click this link for a team-by-team breakdown of gate receipts and comp tickets.

I must say, some of this data is surprising, and others is not. I'm very surprised to see Colorado and Dallas near the top of this list - I've always regarded these cities as successful hockey markets, plus I've heard only good things about those teams in terms of finances. I think both teams still do well because they have large arenas and sell out every game.

Atlanta does not surprise me at all - despite all the claims that this franchise is doing splendidly. Here's an article that says different: Thrashers

In fact, Atlanta ranks 26th in the league in gate receipts. The Panthers are another horror story. And the Lightning - well 1700 comp tickets per game explains a lot when accounting for all those empty seats I see on TV.

This data also explains why I've never gotten a free ticket to an Oilers game. No Canadian teams averaged more than 1000 free tickets per game. And 5 Canadian teams are included in the bottom 10 teams in number of comp tickets given away. Why? Because Canadians actually support their teams and BUY tickets to games. Ditto for the traditional hockey markets in Minnesota, Philly, Detroit, etc. And San Jose? I'm surprised... but way to go for supporting your team!

Atlanta Thrashers 2,827

Florida Panthers 2,806

Colorado Avalanche 2,551

Los Angeles Kings 2,274

Chicago Blackhawks 2,212

Dallas Stars 2,100

New Jersey Devils 1,747

Tampa Bay Lightning 1,738

Nashville Predators 1,718

Phoenix Coyotes 1,580

St. Louis Blues 1,160

Anaheim Ducks 1,106

Washington Capitals 1,091

New York Islanders 1,011

Ottawa Senators 949

Carolina Hurricanes 880

Columbus Blue Jackets 819

Boston Bruins 797

Buffalo Sabres 730

Pittsburgh Penguins 642

Montreal Canadiens 636

Philadelphia Flyers 502

San Jose Sharks 486

Calgary Fames 429

Vancouver Canucks 310

Minnesota Wild 304

Toronto Maple Leafs 243

New York Rangers 233

Detroit Red Wings 212

Edmonton Oilers 207

So now that this data is out there.... let the arguing continue!

[IceCap]

I think a better way to judge Nashville is by hockey interest overall. Has youth hockey grown there exponentially? (Whoever lives in Nashville or Tennessee would know this best.) Has the team's economic stance improved any since their inception?

Eight years isn't long enough to determine whether or not a franchise can exist in a city. It takes at least one generation cycle (around 10-15 years) before the team has a true base of (in this case, Nashville) Predators-only fans. It took Tampa Bay 13 years before they sold out each game, and this is after the lockout could have killed the momentum of the team's victorious Cup run the season before.

With as well as their doing now, however, you would figure that their attendance numbers would be higher, just based on the bandwagon effect alone. The fact that this hasn't happened proves that general interest in hockey isn't at the level a city needs top support a NHL team.

*It's made even worse that there's almost nothing else going on in Nashville sports-wise. They don't have a NBA or MLB team, they don't have a team in the Final Four, and the Titans don't even start training camp until July.

So aside from the Arena League Nashville Kats, the Preds have the city all to themselves, and are one of their conference's best teams at that. And yet they only fall in at #23 attendance wise, and give away 2,600 free tickets away. If that's not failing as a hockey market then I don't know what is.

Now make an arguement that takes place outside of the arena.

Has youth hockey grown in Nashville? If so, it can be argued that games/practice for the kids can hurt weekday sales. (Again, I need a local to discuss this aspect.)

What's the general make-up of Nashville's population: Are the transplants relocating from Northern cities, or is Nashville a prodominately home-grown population? Teams like Dallas, Tampa, Atlanta, etc. have benefitted from having transplanted Northerners with a fandom of another team and halving alligiences with the team they currently live at.

How's the general economy of Nashville, and is it on the up- or down-swing? I get to see a couple of Predators games on FSN South at 3am, and a couple of their players are appearing in commercials for small Mom&Pop businesses. Either the Preds have a ton of sponsors, or these small businesses are the bulk of their advertising and sponsoring.

How well is the game of hockey in Nashville, outside of game attendance? Has the average attendance grown in the past few seasons? How well are the Predators drawing on weekend games? If the game is growing there, the fanbase will grow, and the attendance will grow as well. Again, growing a natural fanbase takes longer than eight years.

I get what you're saying, but just based on how well the team is doing right now they should be selling out the place based on the bandwagon effect alone. Yet that's not the case (85% on average), so all I can conclude is that interest in hockey in Nashville just isn't there.

[KCScout76]

Good to see the Wild (MN) doing so well - I am a bit surprised about St Louis being so low - losing or not, I can't help but wonder about my friends on the East side of the State (Missouri) - not to say KC would do any better.

I am intrested in seeing what will happen, % wise, to see if New Jersey improves next year with the new arena. With Pittsburgh winning and getting a new arena by 2009, Crosby and company should help the cause.

The NHL is in need of an upswing to draw some new fans or grab the old ones back. I'd have to say TV has a lot to do with it - CABLE/SATALITE.

Why go to the game, when you can stay home. I'd rather be at the game in my situation.

Thank you Tank for the update - good to know!!!

[-Helix-]

I would be very interested in seeing paid attendance figures for the rest of the NHL. While hockey may be healthy in Tampa Bay, I simply don't believe that they are selling out every game. When watching NHL highlights, I see empty seats all over the place.

Perhaps everyone is in line at concessions or in the washroom?

It's called being a richass corporate suit or season ticket holder who doesn't bother to show up or give the tickets to someone else.

Or in my case (I was supposed to go to the Lightning game tonight) my friend's ex-girlfriend stole the tickets so we couldn't go and they went unused. Yeah, I'm pissed.

But I guess we could use your logic and start protesting that the Red Wings be moved. Obviously with all their empty seats nobody cares about them.

[CC97]

I would be very interested in seeing paid attendance figures for the rest of the NHL. While hockey may be healthy in Tampa Bay, I simply don't believe that they are selling out every game. When watching NHL highlights, I see empty seats all over the place.

Perhaps everyone is in line at concessions or in the washroom?

It's called being a richass corporate suit or season ticket holder who doesn't bother to show up or give the tickets to someone else.

Or in my case (I was supposed to go to the Lightning game tonight) my friend's ex-girlfriend stole the tickets so we couldn't go and they went unused. Yeah, I'm pissed.

But I guess we could use your logic and start protesting that the Red Wings be moved. Obviously with all their empty seats nobody cares about them.

He didn't say anything about moving the Lightning

[rainmaker17]

I'll be the first to agree that anyone who uses the "hee-haw state" argument is a moron. The Predators are a failure because the city of Nashville just doesn't care about hockey. Their location in a non-traditional market is part of the reason for their failure, but not the whole reason. Non-traditional markets have paid huge dividends in some cases, and they've been failures in others. It's time to move the failing clubs out of their current location and move them to a new city and try to grow the game elsewhere.

Not to totally bash the Nashville fans BUT...I watched the Stars/Preds tilt tonight, and my God talk about impatience. Every time Dallas scored they loudly booed the home team, even in the first period mind you. I thought something was wrong with the volume on my television. Nope. I couldn't believe what I was watching. At this posting Nashville is a highly-seeded playoff team, and you're booing them? Do you taunt the Titans every time they give up a touchdown?

P.S. The NHL better get serious with Jordin Tootoo. That goon just came off suspension and apparently didn't learn a thing....*insert Reggie Dunlap description of Ogge Ogelthorpe here*.

[OMMF]

Here are the REAL interesting numbers. The numbers that ACTUALLY count.

Here's average comp tickets per game this season between Oct 4 to Jan 31.

Source - Globe and Mail Click this link for a team-by-team breakdown of gate receipts and comp tickets.

I must say, some of this data is surprising, and others is not. I'm very surprised to see Colorado and Dallas near the top of this list - I've always regarded these cities as successful hockey markets, plus I've heard only good things about those teams in terms of finances. I think both teams still do well because they have large arenas and sell out every game.

Uhh, you just contradicted yourself. So, which is it? Do they sell out every game or do they lead the league in comped tickets? It can't be both.

[oz615]

I'll be the first to agree that anyone who uses the "hee-haw state" argument is a moron. The Predators are a failure because the city of Nashville just doesn't care about hockey. Their location in a non-traditional market is part of the reason for their failure, but not the whole reason. Non-traditional markets have paid huge dividends in some cases, and they've been failures in others. It's time to move the failing clubs out of their current location and move them to a new city and try to grow the game elsewhere.

Not to totally bash the Nashville fans BUT...I watched the Stars/Preds tilt tonight, and my God talk about impatience. Every time Dallas scored they loudly booed the home team, even in the first period mind you. I thought something was wrong with the volume on my television. Nope. I couldn't believe what I was watching. At this posting Nashville is a highly-seeded playoff team, and you're booing them? Do you taunt the Titans every time they give up a touchdown?

P.S. The NHL better get serious with Jordin Tootoo. That goon just came off suspension and apparently didn't learn a thing....*insert Reggie Dunlap description of Ogge Ogelthorpe here*.

my guess everyone is feeling the pressure @ this point in more ways than one

[gojetsgo]

Here are the REAL interesting numbers. The numbers that ACTUALLY count.

Here's average comp tickets per game this season between Oct 4 to Jan 31.

Source - Globe and Mail Click this link for a team-by-team breakdown of gate receipts and comp tickets.

I must say, some of this data is surprising, and others is not. I'm very surprised to see Colorado and Dallas near the top of this list - I've always regarded these cities as successful hockey markets, plus I've heard only good things about those teams in terms of finances. I think both teams still do well because they have large arenas and sell out every game.

Uhh, you just contradicted yourself. So, which is it? Do they sell out every game or do they lead the league in comped tickets? It can't be both.

By sellout, I meant by the "official" attendance numbers which include the comp tickets. Both teams have close to 100% capacity and 18000+ arenas. But honestly, I still find it very strange that the number of comp tickets are so high in these markets.

Also, another thing that hasn't been considered is the super cheap deals that teams have to get people in the door. When 4 tickets, 4 hotdogs, 4 drinks, and parking are sold for a total of $75, these tickets won't count towards the comp numbers. You can get the exact same thing in Toronto for $75..... minus the tickets of course. You just don't get these types of deals in traditional hockey markets.

When all is said and done, the most important numbers are $$$ generated by ticket sales (since the NHL's U.S. TV deals are worthless). Dallas and Colorado seem to be doing quite well in this regard. Here is the data based on average per game between Oct 4 and Jan 31 in US dollars:

Toronto Maple Leafs 1,513,659

Montreal Canadiens 1,276,266

New York Rangers 1,114,447

Detroit Red Wings 1,113,105

Vancouver Canucks 1,085,226

Colorado Avalanche 1,044,752

Minnesota Wild 1,023,037

Edmonton Oilers 1,020,499

Calgary Flames 991,252

Philadelphia Flyers 989,955

Dallas Stars 985,953

Ottawa Senators 908,557

San Jose Sharks 857,330

Columbus Blue Jackets 852,243

Tampa Bay Lightning 783,829

Anaheim Ducks 773,428

Boston Bruins 769,386

Carolina Hurricanes 700,460

Los Angeles Kings 676,003

Buffalo Sabres 665,539

Pittsburgh Penguins 593,546

New Jersey Devils 569,131

Phoenix Coyotes 538,450

Nashville Predators 516,440

Florida Panthers 504,655

Atlanta Thrashers 487,890

Washington Capitals 456,336

New York Islanders 440,196

St. Louis Blues 433,272

Chicago Blackhawks 341,959

All 6 Canadian teams rank in the top 12 in gate revenue.

P.S. The NHL better get serious with Jordin Tootoo. That goon just came off suspension and apparently didn't learn a thing....*insert Reggie Dunlap description of Ogge Ogelthorpe here*.

"He is a criminal element! - The worst goon in hockey today."

"Oh, yeah. Real cement-head. - Big Afro. 21, 22. Watch out for him."

[oakland ehs]

The Oilers sold out all 41 home games this season, MadMac. In 2005/06, they sold out 40 of 41. So if you're using post-lockout, the Oilers have sold 99%. In 2006/07, it's 100%.

edit, meant to quote your reply to me, but blew it.