Top Five Fan Bases in the NHL

These Teams Have Fan Bases That Bring Excitement to Every NHL Game.

These Fans Bases Are the 7th Player

There are 32 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), equally divided in the Eastern and Western Conferences. Each of the NHL fan bases is unique in its own way, with some much more rabid than others.

That’s due in large part to the success of certain teams, as a winning history tends to create a more passionate group of fans. That’s not just in the home market of a particular team, but also as they travel throughout the league on both sides of the Canada-United States border.

There’s the worldwide appeal as well, as the NHL, along with the other major pro leagues in North America, has been dedicated to growing its brand on other continents. The league, through its Global Series, has played preseason and regular-season games in venues including (alphabetically) Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine, among other locales. Given the larger number of non-Canadian/Americans in the league this shouldn’t surprise.

The league also broadcasts to many of those same venues, hawking both the product and the merchandise in between the constant rotation of NHL scores during the games.

Here’s some more about the National Hockey League and its fans…

Who Has the Largest Fan Base in the NHL?

It’s no secret that when perusing NHL news to find rapid and passionate fans of teams around the league, start with the Original Six. Those half-dozen teams (Boston Bruins. Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs) had a several-decade head start of triumph and torture on the other 26 teams in the NHL.
(Note the league doubled to a dozen teams in 1967-68).

Toronto hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 (through the 2023-24 season), while the Rangers have just one title since 1940. Montreal’s last Cup (1993) is also the last by a team in the Great White North (again through ‘23-’24). Montreal’s two dozen Stanley Cups lead all the franchises.

These teams are also favorites among those bettors who make NHL picks and predictions.

Do not discount fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks, among others.

Who Are the Most Polite NHL Fans?

One doesn’t need to scour the NHL rumors to find the team whose fans usually don’t cuss. This is sort of a loaded question to answer as the Utah Hockey Club just hit town (Salt Lake City) at the start of the 2024-25 season. It was formerly the Arizona Coyotes, whose travails in the desert are a subject all to itself. Polite by nature, it is hoped those fans, many of whom are also fans of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, can continue such decorum. 

What City Has the Best NHL Fans?

NHL standings notwithstanding, all 32 of the teams have fans who bring the passion, admittedly some are more fair-weather than others.

Returning to the Original Six, try to get a ticket to see the Toronto Maple Leafs without selling a member of your family. It’s been more than a half-century (1967) since the team hoisted the Stanley Cup, about as long as it’s been (1965) since Canada adopted the Maple Leaf on its flag.

Toronto’s not alone in this category, but a good place to start in the category of NHL fan bases.    

Where Is the Loudest NHL Fan Base?

During the NHL regular season and the NHL playoffs, it’s deafening in certain places, including Boston (Bruins), Charlotte (Carolina Hurricanes) Las Vegas (Golden Knights), and Winnipeg (Jets). It’s no misprint that Winnipeg, the smallest market in the league, is among the noisiest buildings, especially in the playoffs.  

Any Final Thoughts?

With as many as 16 NHL games today on a given slate, the league can be busy during the season. That offers a chance to have its fans slap on the merchandise, scream at the referee, and get their teams across the finish line.