With the 2018-19 NHL season less than a month away, many fans are making their predictions for which teams are best suited to hoist the Stanley Cup. However, if early ticket sales figures are any indication, Toronto, Montreal and Vegas are early powerhouses as some of the best-selling teams in the league.
Following their historic inaugural season, Las Vegas’ resident expansion team Golden Knights are topping the list of the league’s hottest sellers, according to Ticket Club data. The Golden Knights are hoping to continue the momentum they dramatically built up during their 2018 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, which saw some of the highest NHL ticket prices on record, before falling to the Washington Capitals in five games. Hot on their heels are the New York Rangers, who have consistently dominated secondary market sales for the past four years, largely thanks to their metropolitan home at Madison Square Garden that draws equally impressive amounts of locals and tourists alike.
Four of the league’s Canadian teams – Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton – landed within the top 10 early best-sellers. It’s familiar territory for the Maple Leafs and Canadiens, who have both retained their spot as two of the NHL’s top 10 sellers by season’s end in 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Top 10 Best-Selling Teams of 2018-19 NHL Season
Reigning Stanley Cup champs Washington find themselves in the No. 5 slot, which can mostly be attributed to their October 3 home opener against sixth-ranked Boston. The Eastern Conference clash is the single best-selling game of the full 2018-19 NHL season schedule on the secondary market – and one of the most expensive. Faithful Washington fans are dishing out a pretty penny to witness the first-ever Stanley Cup champions’ banner be raised inside Capital One Arena, with the most exclusive tickets being listed for upwards of $1,000 across the market.
The remainder of the Caps’ season is rather cool in terms of sales performances and ticket prices. However, they’re expected to draw big crowds in their home clashes against longtime rival Pittsburgh and Stanley Cup foe Vegas Golden Knights, not to mention when the New York Islanders come to town with former Washington head coach Barry Trotz at the helm.
Projected average ticket prices to see the Capitals at home this season stand at roughly $125, a sharp increase from their $90 average price per ticket from last season. However, even without winning the Stanley Cup, it’s the Vegas Golden Knights that continue to be red hot as they strike up an early $177 average ticket price heading into the 2018-19 NHL season, up from their $130 average in their inaugural season. In fact, a majority of the top 10 best-selling teams are experiencing jumps in average ticket prices from last season. See the below graphic.
The Rangers are the only team to see a drop in average home game prices, with every other hot selling squad seeing a steady rise. Toronto tops all with a nearly $100 spike in two years. They currently hold the highest average ticket price across the league at just under $250.
Coming up on the lower end of the sales spectrum are the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Sharks and Red Wings, while teams like Calgary, Colorado, St. Louis and Minnesota seeing moderate sales performances thus far.