Which top ten NHL cities are the most hockey crazy right now?

[2023FriendshipTour]

"Insert Home City Here" is the best Hockey city.

 

[Lieutenant Bookman]

My List:

Toronto
Edmonton
Montreal
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Calgary
Winnipeg
Boston
Detroit
Philly

Ready for the hate

Out of all the lists I've seen, this is probably the closest to the list I would make if we're talking about right now (which is in fact what the thread is). However, Minnesota definitely needs to be included and I would probably take out Detroit at the moment due to the general sour outlook of the team and the GM right now. There's definitely less enthusiasm there than in past years (hype for new arena notwithstanding). No doubt they're easily a top market historically though.

People need to make up their minds in here. Some people are excluding Chicago because bandwagon, but then also putting Pittsburgh and Nashville in there. Any ranking that has either of those teams should definitely have Chicago. If you're doing all time top 10, then they should all be excluded, but too many people have double standards in this respect.

I also agree with the idea that no American markets rank above the Canadian markets. Even the hockey markets that are generally accepted as being the most diehard (Minnesota, Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, Philly, etc) don't have their hockey team as the number one ticket in town even in the best of times, and in some cases are even 3rd most popular team in the city. Hockey in general just doesn't mean as much in the US as Canada, although the hockey fans that do exist are usually pretty diehard with far less casual fans than the other sports

 

[Cawz]

I'm curious to hear some of the arguments that Calgary is a more hockey mad city than Edmonton.

There is no argument because its not the case.

The Leafs have 10x the fan base size than the Oilers.
Leafs fans pay more (support) than Oilers fans for tickets.
Their team is worth more than twice what the Oilers are.
They have better attendance numbers than the Oilers.
During the past decade in which both teams sucked the Leafs didn't have a bunch of 1st overall gifts to sell hope to their fanbase, yet the fanbase stayed loyal even though Toronto has far more entertainment alternatives to turn to.
The Leafs have a longer and richer history.
The area is home to the highest concentration of leagues and teams in the world.
Highest concentration of hockey centric media.
Produces the most NHL players.

Yet you had the Leafs 4th and Edmonton 1st, so asking why I have Calgary over Edmonton like that is outrageous is pretty rich.

I would wager that the Leafs also have the highest number of non-Leaf fans (non-hockey fans) living in their city than any other Canadian city, so it kind of goes both way.

Spending lots of time in Calgary, Edmonton, Van and Toronto, Edmonton is the place where the hockey team takes front and center more than anywhere else. Toronto has the sheer numbers, but in Edmonton, seemingly everyone is into the Oilers. Montreal I cant really comment on (nor the Peg or Ottawa).

 

[McDavyCrockett]

You sure about that? Not everything is measured in wins and losses.

Calgary had to ensure some damn tough times. In the early 90s we couldn't afford to keep together a cup / president's trophy winning core that featured guys like Nieuwendyk, MacInnis, Gilmour, in their absolute primes. In the early late 90s 2000s we had inept management that traded away Marc Savard for a fringer KHLer, bought out Martin St. Louis, thought Craig Anderson wasn't worth signing to a contract after being OHL goaltender of the year, and generally drafted extremely poorly.

In 2004 we made the playoffs for the first time in ages and it was the most crazy you can imagine.

And then we were a good team for the next five seasons, but couldn't get over the hump. Okay, **** happens. In 2010 we missed the playoffs as the 16th best RS team in the NHL (Montreal was 17th, but made the playoffs in the East.. yeah.. that year they made the ECF off the back of Halak). Tough pill to swallow with an old team with its cup window dwindling away. But what was an even tougher pill to swallow? Obnoxious Oilers fans already proclaiming their team a future dynasty off the back of The Fall For Taylor Hall. That was the same year we traded our first round pick for Olli Jokinen.

You can call the Edmonton fans loyal, but make no mistake, they were being sold on nothing less than a tank job. A tank job that got them three first overalls, then a seventh overall, then a so-called NHL-rady 3rd overall, and then eventually, Connor McDavid...

So if you want to talk about loyalty through tough times, you have to factor in media narratives. Oiler fanss, over the 2010-2016 stretch, never once heard about how they weren't going to be a future dynasty. Whether it was Hall-Hopkins-Eberle, or "NHL-ready 2C Draisaitl, or Future Norris Winner Justin Schultz, or "I know a little something about winning" from their president/GM... they were consistently fed a tale about how their tanking would pay out.

Flames also missed the playoffs in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014... know what we had to hear?

Core Too Old and Finished (Iginla, Kiprusoff, Bouwmeester, Cammalleri)
Can't score now, how will it look when these guys are gone (the Brent Sutter Flames played BORING hockey)
No Future (Despite Backlund, Despite Brodie, despite Baertschi, despite Gaudreau, Despite Monahan... every year it was all about how Hopkins, Eberle, Hall, Yakupov, Schultz, and Dubnyk were going to tear the NHL apart.. 1st Overalls are the only way to replace Iginla and only the OIlers got them)
Roman Cervenka is the saviour.
Reto Berra is the saviour.
Feaster is an idiot for that ROR offer sheet.

I maintain that it was tougher to be a Flames fan at the climax of the Brent Sutter era (2012 or so) than it was to have hope fed to you by the media, and that's what the Oilers had. Bad in the standings, but they had no doubt they were destined for 80s Islanders status at minimum. We had to hear doubts about whether we would see a playoff game again this decade.

So what's a tougher time. Perennially 17-to-18th place with no perceived future, or perennially 25th-30th place with the promise of greatness to come?

Despite all that, I challenge you to show me a single fanbase's non-HF fan forum that is as active as Calgarypuck. Calgary's few HFBoards members may not go there, for reasons, but that's probably the most active hockey website after HFBoards. Compare to a website like Leafsconnected.
Most active users online in one day at Leafsconnected - 679.
Most active users online at Calgarypuck in one day - 1,717
Now consider the population difference between Southern Ontario and Southern Alberta.

Compare Calgary's loyalty to the Flames during their 7-year playoff drought compared to Edmonton's loyalty to the Oilers during their respective 10-year playoff drought.....

Edmonton will always have that advantage vis-a-vis Calgary. It's what happens when you win 5 cups and cement yourself as a dynasty within your first decade as a franchise in the NHL, all the while having the greatest player in hockey history during that era.

Media kool-aid aside, Edmonton is a colder, more snowy blue-collar city compared to Calgary......hockey is a lifeblood in one city to the degree it never will be in the other.

The only other city in Canada that is actually more hockey-crazed than Edmonton when you contextualize things is probably Winnipeg....given that their precious Jets have never won a damn thing.

 

[ek93]

Toronto is tops when they are 30th overall or make the playoffs. No hockey city is like that.

Somebody in this thread already pointed out that this was the case for Buffalo as well. So yes, I'm sure there are others.

Regardless, yeah both are easily top 10. Toronto obviously higher.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Edmonton will always have that advantage vis-a-vis Calgary. It's what happens when you win 5 cups and cement yourself as a dynasty within your first decade as a franchise in the NHL, all the while having the greatest player in hockey history during that era.

Media kool-aid aside, Edmonton is a colder, more snowy blue-collar city compared to Calgary......hockey is a lifeblood in one city to the degree it never will be in the other.

I disagree slightly that Edmonton is that much colder than Calgary (a few degrees colder on avg....I know I know, Chinooks)

I agree with the blue-collar attitude of Edmonton makes it much more passionate than white collar Calgary

Oilers are much more connected to the city and community than the Flames....probably cause they've been an institution here since 1972, as opposed to moving here from an american city
couple that with the 80s dynasty, having our hearts ripped out more than a few times...we've experienced the highs and lows of the team

(lets no forget the team having more twitter followers, facebook likes, blogs, discussions etc...)

 

[saskganesh]

Right now, it's August. So it's just a few crazy people scattered around the internet.

 

[ElysiumAB]

Detroit is still Detroit, and they still love their team. Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Chicago are all in the top, Bruins too.

Huh?

Detroit is not a hockey city. There's no hockey talk on the radio, half-empty arena until the second period. It's a myth.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

Huh?

Detroit is not a hockey city. There's no hockey talk on the radio, half-empty arena until the second period. It's a myth.

Considering it takes a lot of the people in say Northern Macomb & Oakland Counties, roughly 45 minutes to get to the arena (without traffic), sure there are always going to be empty seats to start a game during a weekday game.

 

[Dogewow]

I don't think that Detroit is a bad hockey market by any means, but I certainly think it's overrated. That whole "Hockeytown" marketing gimmick really got through to some people. It's really no better than most other northeasternish hockey markets.

As an aside, most of this thread is just an echo chamber. Tough to really prove and legitimately measure a lot of what people are talking about.

 

[Volica]

The top 3 are easily:
Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg.

There's no other game in town, no real professional sports league; all three have promising young teams. Rich histories. If you asked 10 people on the street what their favourite team/favourite sport are, you'd likely get 7-8 people naming hockey, and at least 5 of those naming the hometown team.

If I did a top ten in no particular order:
Edmonton
Calgary
Winnipeg
Toronto
Montreal
Minnesota
Boston
Pittsburgh
Buffalo

Maybe:
Detroit
Vancouver

These teams are both going to be pretty bad for a number of years, so fever's probably down a bit. Vancouver 5 years ago may have been easily on top of the list.

 

[LeafFever]

Somebody in this thread already pointed out that this was the case for Buffalo as well. So yes, I'm sure there are others.

Regardless, yeah both are easily top 10. Toronto obviously higher.

I'm looking at the attendance stats and seeing it as not being true.

 

[MikeGrier99]

Even without these events, I think Mtl should be first tbh. Hockey is the only true sport there, just come here during the playoffs. You hear about it everywhere... But I have no choice but to admit how big hockey is in Montreal.

I grew up in Edmonton and now live in Montreal. I feel the Oilers are more popular relatively speaking. Everyone likes the Habs in Montreal but not everyone follows them closely. Both fanbases are fantastic and basically the height of the NHL, but I think Edmonton is more hockey mad relatively speaking.

 

[Connor]

I'm an Oilers fan and Edmontonian, I think we have a strong case for most crazed hockey city but I could be bias and might not have solid enough knowledge of other cities but I'll rank the other cities ranking from 2-11.
For me, it's not about how crazy the city gets when the team is doing well but how much the fans still care when the team is poor and that is how I will rank the teams.

11. Pittsburgh - Before Crosby the Penguins weren't a well supported team, on the cusp of moving but they got the player they needed to keep the Penguins alive
10. Boston - The Bruins have a lot of successful, historic franchises to compete with but the Bruins seem to still have their faithful in the tougher times
9. Minnesota - Minnie has a lot of grassroots hockey programs as well as the Wild but I'm not sure how much NHL support the team gets if not doing well
8. Detroit - It's hard to truly tell how big a drop off in team support would be with no playoffs seeing as this is the first year without playoffs in a long time
7. Philadelphia - Flyers fans have had a relatively successful team these last few decades but have yet to taste Lord Stanley but the fan base has maintained
6. Calgary - I wouldn't say that Calgary is a fair weather city for the Flames but fan support definitely drops off and picks up depending on the Flames' success
5. Buffalo - I got to give Sabres fans credit for sticking in with your team, I think they might surprise this upcoming season (first American team)
4. Toronto - There was signs of apathy from Leaf fans before Matthews.Leafs have a distinct advantage over all other Canadian teams with the two major media outlets (sports channels) in Canada owning them so they will advertise their product as much as they can
3. Winnipeg - Fans seem to be getting restless with the Jets' lack of success, but restless shows they still care
2. Montreal - There is a tradition and the Canadiens are even part of the culture with the media and needs for French coaches

 

[longtimeoilfan]

I numbered your points to make it easier for me to argue. Numbers 1,2,3,6,7,8 are all pretty easily explained by the fact that Toronto has 5X the people that Edmonton does, and a far larger population living within a reasonable distance of the city.


4. Not that I like to brag, but the Oilers were historically awful over the last ten years. No number of underwhelming 1st overalls, including one of the worst 1st overalls in NHL history, can off set that. Plus more people=more fans willing to come to games even when the team sucks.

5. I have great respect for the Leafs as a team of history and their part in the origins of the NHL. But I really don't think that should allow you to assume Oilers history is immediately better.

Overall, you should have posted this in the "which team is most financially successful" thread. I think Flames fans are a bunch of dummies, but I respect their passion. If I wanted to insult them, I would say they are less passionate then the Canucks fans. Watch a Canucks game and you will see their attendance is dropping fast.

A few years back I crunched the numbers on players and cities, and I found that Edmonton produced the most 'current' NHL players and Thunder Bay produced the most players per capita. I went through each team and counted. So, I would have to disagree with the previous poster's last point as well (i.e. [Toronto] produces the most NHL players).

edit: I found the following on the bleacher report, about the 2011/12 season. It doesn't fully support my argument, but it does shed some light... yet, considering the differences in population, it seems Edmonton should come out ahead. Mind you, based on population, Thunder Bay is tops for producing NHL players.

Canadians currently represent 53.3 percent of all NHL players, which is a pretty incredible number. That’s over half the league. But which Canadian city has the most hometown heroes in the NHL?

Based on the 2011-12 rosters, we have a tie! The distinction is shared by both Toronto, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta!

That’s right. Fifty-four players that are currently active on NHL teams come from either Toronto or Edmonton. This tie proves that a city’s population or resources does not dictate its hockey success; talent does. Edmonton only has a third of the population of Toronto, yet both cities have spurred 27 players to the NHL.

On my Thunder Bay point, I found the following that supports my findings: http://www.the10and3.com/pound-for-pound-what-is-canadas-best-hockey-town/

"Thunder Bay regularly churns out at least one NHL player (often more) for every 15,000 residents, a remarkable feat." By comparison, Edmonton produces 1 player per 45,000 or so, and Toronto 1 player per +100,000.

 

[I am not exposed]

Right now, it's August. So it's just a few crazy people scattered around the internet.

Mostly posting on this board.

 

[Jumptheshark]

What do you guys think is the top 10 most hockey crazy cities in the NHL right now?

i think Detroit has fallen big time last years maybe out of top ten?and how is the interest right now in Toronto? question to supporters that live there is this the hottest hockey has ever been for the team in Toronto or Close?

everytime we get these threads i get concerned

always turns into a pissing contest

 

[Jumptheshark]

The top 3 are easily:
Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg.

There's no other game in town, no real professional sports league; all three have promising young teams. Rich histories. If you asked 10 people on the street what their favourite team/favourite sport are, you'd likely get 7-8 people naming hockey, and at least 5 of those naming the hometown team.

If I did a top ten in no particular order:
Edmonton
Calgary
Winnipeg
Toronto
Montreal
Minnesota
Boston
Pittsburgh
Buffalo

Maybe:
Detroit
Vancouver

These teams are both going to be pretty bad for a number of years, so fever's probably down a bit. Vancouver 5 years ago may have been easily on top of the list.

vancouver will never be in the top ten

 

[LeafFever]

I'm an Oilers fan and Edmontonian, I think we have a strong case for most crazed hockey city but I could be bias and might not have solid enough knowledge of other cities but I'll rank the other cities ranking from 2-11.
For me, it's not about how crazy the city gets when the team is doing well but how much the fans still care when the team is poor and that is how I will rank the teams.

11. Pittsburgh - Before Crosby the Penguins weren't a well supported team, on the cusp of moving but they got the player they needed to keep the Penguins alive
10. Boston - The Bruins have a lot of successful, historic franchises to compete with but the Bruins seem to still have their faithful in the tougher times
9. Minnesota - Minnie has a lot of grassroots hockey programs as well as the Wild but I'm not sure how much NHL support the team gets if not doing well
8. Detroit - It's hard to truly tell how big a drop off in team support would be with no playoffs seeing as this is the first year without playoffs in a long time
7. Philadelphia - Flyers fans have had a relatively successful team these last few decades but have yet to taste Lord Stanley but the fan base has maintained
6. Calgary - I wouldn't say that Calgary is a fair weather city for the Flames but fan support definitely drops off and picks up depending on the Flames' success
5. Buffalo - I got to give Sabres fans credit for sticking in with your team, I think they might surprise this upcoming season (first American team)
4. Toronto - There was signs of apathy from Leaf fans before Matthews.Leafs have a distinct advantage over all other Canadian teams with the two major media outlets (sports channels) in Canada owning them so they will advertise their product as much as they can
3. Winnipeg - Fans seem to be getting restless with the Jets' lack of success, but restless shows they still care
2. Montreal - There is a tradition and the Canadiens are even part of the culture with the media and needs for French coaches

They never needed that to be the most popular team.

 

[Connor]

They never needed that to be the most popular team.

Leaf fans checked out the season before Matthews, they're the most popular team mostly due to population and how long the franchise has existed; not because they have the most passionate fans on average.

 

[Critical13]

Leaf fans checked out the season before Matthews, they're the most popular team mostly due to population and how long the franchise has existed; not because they have the most passionate fans on average.

Just out of curiousity, what do you base this on? I saw very little downturn in Leafs interest. The Leafs subreddit was the most active of the r/hockey group, has been for 5 years. Still sold out every game.

Or are you just trying to stir the pot?

 

[Bluesguru]

So St. Louis needs some love here.

I am a bias homer but they SOLD OUT Busch stadium twice this year. Once for the Winter Classic of course and another for an Alumni game... Alumni game... Old guys on ice. Sold out a baseball stadium.

Seriously cannot drive down a highway in STL for longer than a few miles without seeing a Blues personalized plate or some kind of hockey bumper sticker on a car.

5 kids from St. Louis drafted in the first round in last years draft.

Hockey is HUGE here. Lately have great attendance numbers. Recent WCF appearance and two years in a row getting past the first round (hey that's good for us). So right now? Hockey is giant in STL and they are on the top 10. Easily competing with big markets and Canadian markets in terms of being a great area for hockey development. Definitely one of the best in the U.S. the past couple years.

Nice Post. At first I'm like yeah, STL should be mentioned and they probably just fall outside the top 10 list and are more like top 15.

But when you look at their attendance history, heck, since 1990, except for a 2 year swing in 05 to 07 when the Blues averaged about 13K when they were at the bottom of the league, the attendance figures have been amongst the best in the league.

Blues drew better than Pitt when Pitt had Lemieux and Jagr and their numbers prior to Crosby were really low. And the Hawks attendance numbers prior to the Kane/Toews era were pretty low for the 7 years prior, especially when you consider the size of that market.

No, I think St. Louis warrants serious consideration to be included in the top 10 list.

 

[Connor]

Just out of curiousity, what do you base this on? I saw very little downturn in Leafs interest. The Leafs subreddit was the most active of the r/hockey group, has been for 5 years. Still sold out every game.

Or are you just trying to stir the pot?

I'm basing it on activity on TSN, Sportsnet, Leafs Nation, and other media outlets where Leaf activity dropped.

Look at Leaf home games, hardly the most ruckus of crowds even when the team is doing well.

They have passionate fans no doubt but they're not top 3 IMO.

 

[Three On Zero]

http://http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph_season.php?lid=NHL1927&sid=2017

Attendance last year, even with Vancouver on a huge decline we still had better numbers than Edmonton. Try again to say the city isn't hockey crazed.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I'm basing it on activity on TSN, Sportsnet, Leafs Nation, and other media outlets where Leaf activity dropped.

Look at Leaf home games, hardly the most ruckus of crowds even when the team is doing well.

They have passionate fans no doubt but they're not top 3 IMO.

Leafs home games? Half the rink is suits eating sushi and miss half the game. The vast majority of your hardcore, middle-class, Leafs fans can't afford more than 1 game a year. And yes, I'd say we have a passionate fan base, how we're not top 3 after selling out every game for decades when the team hasn't sniffed a cup since 1967? Leafs fans are some of the most dedicated out there. We blindly follow the team no matter how they're doing.