Best Hockey Cities

best hockey cities

We have researched the data to reveal the the best hockey cities to live in based on the number of sports bars, food and drink prices, as well as winning percentages and championships.

1. Denver – (7.36 hockey fan score)

Denver takes first place with a score of 7.36 out of 10. Denver ranks consistently across the board, with their local team, the Colorado Avalanche, winning almost 40% of their games in the last five years, as well as claiming three championships in their history.

2. Pittsburgh – (7.00 hockey fan score)

Two teams share second place, both with a score of 7 out of 10. Pittsburgh’s local hockey team is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who play at the PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins have won almost 39% of their games in the last five years, and have won five Stanley Cups.

3. Tampa – (7.00 hockey fan score)

Tampa shares second place with Pittsburgh, also with a score of 7 out of 10. Tampa Bay Lightning, the local team of Tampa, have the highest win rate over the last five years at an even 44%. Two of the Bolts’ three Stanley Cups came in 2020 and 2021, with their first coming in 2004.

Best Cities to be a Hockey Fan

RankCityNHL TeamSports Bars per 100,000StadiumsFood and Drink Price ScoreAverage Win % (Last 5 Years)No. of ChampionshipsScore /10
1DenverColorado Avalanche7.2375.1259.34%37.36
2PittsburghPittsburgh Penguins11.2334.2958.22%57
2TampaTampa Bay Lightning4.1514.7665.87%37
4BostonBoston Bruins5.8323.3360.94%66.64
5MontrealMontréal Canadiens3.1337.2640.47%226
5TorontoToronto Maple Leafs2.3324.5359.13%116
7ChicagoChicago Blackhawks3.8605.8341.37%35.79
8MinneapolisMinnesota Wild5466.7855.57%05.64
9CalgaryCalgary Flames1.1419.7652.99%15.57
10WashingtonWashington Capitals8.8264.0559.13%15.5
11RaleighCarolina Hurricanes3.1304.8857.20%15.22
12St. LouisSt. Louis Blues5.7274.7655.13%15.14
13New YorkNew York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
1.2912.6246.59%115.07
14DetroitDetroit Red Wings5.3314.5234.50%115
15DallasDallas Stars2724.2950.89%14.79
16EdmontonEdmonton Oilers1197.6252.19%54.64
17Las VegasVegas Golden Knights8.6322.0358.69%04.57
18NashvilleNashville Predators4.9177.6256.58%04.5
19PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia Flyers3.1382.8646.18%24.43
20Los AngelesLA Kings
Anaheim Ducks
0.8902.9743.06%34.07
21MiamiFlorida Panthers5.3273.3357.02%03.93
22VancouverVancouver Canucks7.6146.4344.50%03.79
23WinnipegWinnipeg Jets1.1267.8654.80%03.71
24ColumbusColumbus Blue Jackets1.9219.2947.32%03.64
25San JoseSan Jose Sharks2.7295.8445.79%03.43
26OttawaOttawa Senators1.4137.6237.21%13.07
27BuffaloBuffalo Sabres2.8166.936.00%02.57
28PhoenixArizona Coyotes0.7513.4540.68%02.5
29SeattleSeattle Kraken4.6261.1913.41%01.64

Methodology

  • Using our research into the teams with the best home-field advantage to get the average win percentage for each team in each city for the last five years.
  • For cities with more than one team, we took the average for those teams to get the city’s average.
  • We used Wikipedia to get the number of championships each NBA team had.
  • Our average beer, soft drink, and hot dog prices came from Team Marketing.
  • We used Yelp to find the number of sports bars, as well as the number of stadiums and arenas in each city. We looked at sports bars, stadiums, and arenas within five miles of the city center.
  • We normalized the above factors to get a score out of 10, before taking an average of these scores to get our results, focusing only on the city’s local team for that sport.

WRITTEN BY

Austin Harper

Austin is a co-founders at Betsperts and a devoted father of 2. Born and raised in Atlanta Georgia, Austin is passionate about the Atlanta Hawks, Braves, and Falcons. Austin received his Bachelors of Science from Clemson University and gets back for Clemson football and basketball games every chance he gets!

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