The 2023-2024 NHL season kicks off on Tuesday with a triple-header featuring a matchup between the reigning Stanley Cup champions and the Seattle Kraken, two of the league’s newest expansion teams that have played a significant role in driving ticket sales this year.
The NHL has seen a surge of interest this year with overall ticket sales outpacing last season’s sales by more than double, according to the latest data collected by StubHub.
While domestic interest in the sport continues to grow, the data shows that international demand for the NHL is also on the rise with ticket sales coming from buyers across 44 different counties, compared to last season sales which showed buyers from 28 countries, year-to-date.
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"I think the NHL in general has done a great job of growing the game globally," Stubhub spokesperson Adam Budelli told FOX Business. "I think the one thing that we will talk about in general is that there are 18 U.S. states traveling abroad for their NHL games. So that means 18 states are where we are registering sales."
"So again, back to this global sports narrative that we see obviously right now currently in the NFL too as they have their games kicking off internationally. Hockey is no different and the NHL is certainly capitalizing on the excitement and growth of the game where people in the U.S. are traveling abroad, but also fans from abroad are traveling into the U.S."
Of the surge in ticket sales, StubHub’s data reveals that the top 10 teams among buyers are the Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Seattle Kraken, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers.
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"If you think specifically to the Blackhawks, there's been a lot of hype around them having one of the marquee rookies in all of the NHL. So I think that's a piece of it where a lot of people may be interested in seeing him," Budelli explained.
He also noted that despite some teams coming off a poor season or having historically struggled, some of these teams play can be a major factor drawing in fans.
"What we're seeing across all sports live events in the industry is fans that are interested in going to away games. So if you think about some of the marquee cities that are on that list, it wouldn't be shocking for us if we start diving into the data that, you know, fans would love to go to Nashville to see their team play," he said. "You know, having the ability to go see your team on the road to play in some of these iconic cities where hockey is a large part of the culture, it's certainly an exciting trip to have."
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Tuesday’s schedule begins with a 5:30 p.m. ET game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning followed by the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kraken will close out the night with a 10:30 p.m. ET game in Las Vegas.
