New York Rangers<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPlacing second, staying on the east coast, we have the New York Rangers, with an index score of 2.69. <\/mark><\/p>\nDespite the Rangers having enjoyed limited on-ice success, with just one Presidents\u2019 Trophy in over almost 30 years and a single Stanley Cup since 1940, the team certainly has a dedicated fanbase. Delving into the data, the Rangers can boast the fifth-highest social media following in the NHL (4.5 million) and the fourth-most Google-searched jersey, as well as a respectable Instagram engagement rate of 1.63%.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Chicago Blackhawks<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nIn third, six-time Stanley Cup champions the Chicago Blackhawks are the top-rated Western Conference franchise with a score of 2.59. Though the team\u2019s average stadium attendance sits at just 93.8%, placing them outside the top 10, their social media presence is better than any other NHL franchise.<\/mark><\/p>\nIn fact, with almost 7 million followers across all platforms, the Blackhawks have almost three times as many fans as the St. Louis Blues (2.4 million). Despite this, however, the team\u2019s Instagram engagement rate (1.24%) is only slightly above average (1.14%), behind the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild (1.29%).<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Dallas Stars<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPlacing fourth, the Dallas Stars record an index score of 2.47, largely helped along by having the third-most popular jerseys, with over 112,000 Google searches in the last 12 months. They also have an impressive Instagram engagement rate of 1.67%, despite their social media following (2.4 million) being ranked 15th in the NHL.<\/mark><\/p>\nThe Stars came close to winning this season\u2019s Central Division, missing out by just a single point, but fans will still hold out hope for a second Conference Championship in three years and their first Stanley Cup this century, as the team battles through the playoffs.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Toronto Maple Leafs<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThe Toronto Maple Leafs may have the third-most Stanley Cup appearances and wins, but they\u2019ve not tasted serious success in over 50 years \u2013 that\u2019s a couple of generations of fans who\u2019ve had their loyalty consistently tested. Put into context, in the period since their last Stanley Cup title, the Montreal Canadiens have won an incredible 10 championships.<\/mark><\/p>\nThis has earned Maple Leafs supporters a place among the best NHL fans, with an index score of 2.42. Though the stadium attendance rate (82.8%) often falls below the league average, the team\u2019s social media following is one of the strongest in the league \u2013 in fact, they\u2019re one of just four franchises to boast more than 5 million fans across all platforms.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Colorado Avalanche<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nNext up, we have last season\u2019s champions, the Colorado Avalanche, who have the sixth-most loyal fans in the NHL, with an index score of 2.41. Last year\u2019s triumph maintained the team\u2019s 100% record in Stanley Cup finals, and they remain the only team to go undefeated when it matters. However, with just one title in over 20 years, many Avalanche fans will claim their loyalty has been tested nonetheless!<\/mark><\/p>\nImpressively, though, the team continues to have a very visible presence among supporters, with their jersey officially the second-most popular of all NHL franchises. This comes as Avalanche replica-wear recorded a remarkable 116,800 Google searches from supporters over the last year.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Pittsburgh Penguins<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPittsburgh Penguins fans also feature among the best supporters in the NHL, placing seventh with an index score of 2.36. Their high ranking is helped along by the Penguins having the second-widest reach on social media, with a staggering 6.5 million followers around the world – almost twice that of the Philadelphia Flyers (3.3 million) and nearly five times as many as the Columbus Blue Jackets (1.4 million).<\/mark><\/p>\nHowever, despite an impressive following, the Penguins\u2019 Instagram engagement rate (0.57%) is actually among the worst in the league, ahead of only the Blue Jackets (0.51%) and the Vancouver Canucks (0.08%).<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Carolina Hurricanes<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWith an index score of 2.34, supporters of the Carolina Hurricanes rank eighth among the best NHL fanbases. The team is currently going through a strong period, having just won their division for the third year in a row \u2013 after a barren era that saw the franchise fail to capitalize on Stanley Cup success in 2006 – with fans hopeful for a shot at just a second-ever championship title.<\/mark><\/p>\nInterestingly, despite the recent return, the team can only boast 1.5 million followers across all social media platforms; though, no other NHL Instagram account has a better engagement rate among fans (2.92%).<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Seattle Kraken<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nDespite the team only being founded in 2021 and currently enjoying just their second-ever season of NHL action, Seattle Kraken supporters have earned a place among the most loyal hockey fans, with a score of 2.27. Fans in the city have been starved of a professional team since the Totems folded in \u201975, so it\u2019s no surprise that the Kraken has been an instant hit!<\/mark><\/p>\nIn fact, the franchise already tops the charts for fans looking to buy replica-wear, with an incredible 134,000 Google searches for jerseys in the last year alone. However, they\u2019ve a long way to go if they want to compete on social media, with just 1.3 million followers across all platforms \u2013 more than only the Florida Panthers (1.1 million) and Arizona Coyotes (1.2 million).<\/mark><\/p>\n\n- \n
Minnesota Wild<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nRounding out the ten best NHL fanbases, we have the Minnesota Wild, with supporters recording an index score of 2.23. Since being founded in the year 2000, the Wild have earned just one division title \u2013 all the way back in 2008 – and peaked at the playoff stage 12 times without winning the Stanley Cup<\/mark>, so supporters should be congratulated for their continued commitment.<\/p>\nImpressively, the team enjoys maximum fan support each game, with a 100% stadium attendance, as well as a having the fifth-most popular jerseys (96,000 Google searches in the last 12 months). However, the franchise\u2019s online following (2.1 million) is below average for the NHL (2.7 million), while their Instagram engagement rate sits at just 1.29%.<\/mark><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"Which teams have the highest attendances?<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"
Focusing solely on gameday attendances, we can reveal that the Vegas Golden Knights have the best in-person support. Impressively, the T-Mobile Arena is regularly oversubscribed and records an average attendance of 104.2%. Next up, we have the Nashville Predators (100.6%) and Minnesota Wild (100.4%), followed by the Washington Capitals (100.4%) and Seattle Kraken (100.3%), each of which also exceed full capacity.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning regularly welcome a full house. And rounding out the best-attended NHL teams, we have the New York Islanders (99%), St. Louis Blues (97.9%), Colorado Avalanche (97.2%) and Pittsburgh Penguins (97.2%).<\/p>\n
Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\nTo determine the most loyal fans in the NHL, we considered four factors:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Average capacity percentage: the average attendance for each team\u2019s stadium during the 21\/22 season.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Social media following: the total number of followers for each team across Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Jersey popularity: the number of searches on Google in the last 12 months for each team + “Jersey”.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Instagram engagement rate: the rate of engagement on each team\u2019s Instagram account.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each team was ranked for each factor and assigned a normalized index score between 0-1. The normalized values were then summed for each team, to give each team a score between 0-4. The teams were then ranked.<\/p>\n
Data gathered is correct as of 04\/28\/2023. The most recent data was used where possible.<\/p>\n"}],"main_image":116310},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116192,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116191\/revisions\/116192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}