Also the Former Senator Mark Stone tosses a stick to a young fan after being named first star following a game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Chicago Blackhawks fans have proven they are undoubtably loyal after tallying a third consecutive year as the leader in NHL attendance, despite missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
United Center recorded 932,098 total fans this year, equalling an average of 107.2 percent sold each home game. They increased their total attendance by almost 50,000 this year
Analyzing the attendance figures over one season shows which fan bases are growing the fastest.
On the other side of the spectrum, some situations just seem to keep getting worse.
Ottawa: The Senators went from 85.3 percent attendance to 76.0 percent. having the biggest drop of 9.3 percent, by putting them last place in the league in both points and attendance. Also it has the biggest potential for improvement next season, which just need to create their own Sens Surge, and making the playoffs might help as well.
St. Louis: The Stanley Cup Champions dropped 5.2 percent in attendance this season. It is undoubtly due to the fact they were in last place in January hav you ever hear that story? These numbers are getting with an entire season sample size, which is sure to improve when the Blues defend their championship next year. Play Gloria!
Other honourable mentions:
Montreal: The Canadiens were very close to having the most total fans last season with 862,914, only 69,184 away from matching the huge numbers Chicago put up, along with the second highest average.
Toronto: The Leafs jump from 6th to 4th could be due to the offseason acquisition of their hometown boy, John Tavares, and the promise of ending their 51-year drought.
Vegas: The Golden Knights secured second place after the success of their inaugural season, proving all the haters wrong who said hockey couldn’t work in the desert. They’re only 1.7 percent in growth away from taking over the top spot next season.
Colorado: The most impressive single season growth goes to the Avalanche with a whopping 8.0 percent growth from 87.1 to 95.1. This season exposed the fire of their young talent, taking down first-place Calgary and almost ousting the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs. Expect Colorado’s attendance to keep climbing Rocky Mountain high.
