While the opening half of the NHL regular season has been anything but pretty for fans of the Boston Bruins, with the club mired in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016, there’s no denying the loyalty that many in the Commonwealth have for the franchise.
As the club sits with a 21-19-5 record and has 47 points overall, it’s worth wondering what’ll happen next for Boston, with hometown sports betting goliath DraftKings Massachusetts Sportsbook giving the Bruins -115 odds of making the postseason (and that same figure that they don’t) right now.
As we continue into the 2024-25 NHL season, BetMassachusetts.com wanted to find out which fanbases are the most loyal in the NHL. We factored in average stadium capacity, X followers, and team record between the 2021-2024 seasons (21-22, 22-23, 23-24). We did not factor in the Utah Hockey Club in this ranking due to the team not having an established fanbase, following, and record.
Most Loyal NHL Fans
Rank | Team | Score |
1 | Boston Bruins | 7.65 |
2 | Montreal Canadiens | 12.35 |
3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 12.61 |
4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 16.31 |
5 | New York Rangers | 17.61 |
6 | Edmonton Oilers | 20.59 |
7 | Minnesota Wild | 21.55 |
8 | Dallas Stars | 22.58 |
9 | Vancouver Canucks | 23.52 |
10 | Detroit Red Wings | 25.43 |
11 | Nashville Predators | 26.52 |
12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 26.57 |
13 | Colorado Avalanche | 27.61 |
14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 28.42 |
15 | Vegas Golden Knights | 29.55 |
16 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 30.52 |
17 | Los Angeles Kings | 30.56 |
18 | Carolina Hurricanes | 32.63 |
19 | New Jersey Devils | 35.47 |
20 | St. Louis Blues | 35.52 |
21 | Washington Capitals | 36.50 |
22 | Seattle Kraken | 37.45 |
23 | Buffalo Sabres | 42.46 |
24 | Calgary Flames | 46.54 |
25 | Florida Panthers | 46.59 |
26 | San Jose Sharks | 47.33 |
27 | Ottawa Senators | 49.43 |
28 | New York Islanders | 49.51 |
29 | Winnipeg Jets | 49.55 |
30 | Anaheim Ducks | 50.34 |
31 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 59.36 |
Bruins Fans Lead NHL in Loyalty
One thing that we can’t question regarding the B’s is the passion that Bostonians have for the club in the first place, with Bruins fans blowing the other 31 NHL fanbases out of the water by our selected metrics, with a total score of 7.65 points.
That figure put the Bruins well ahead of the next closest club, which was the Montreal Canadiens at 12.35 points, while the Toronto Maple Leafs were the third ranked fanbase with a total score of 12.61 points and the Chicago Blackhawks were fourth at 16.31 points.
Conversely, the worst fan base in the 32-team league in terms of fan loyalty was the Columbus Blue Jackets, who finished with a dismal score of 59.36 points, finishing behind the Anaheim Ducks, who were the next closest club, at 50.34 points.
Show off your loyalty to your teams by getting the best Massachusetts sportsbook promos before you place your next wager.
Author
Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
