The Winnipeg Jets are in serious trouble, and may be considered for future relocation if improvement is not imminent.
Post-Pandemic Attendance Woes
The Winnipeg Jets have been struggling to fill seats post-pandemic. With a fanbase that is desperate to see their team overcome their playoff woes while their window begins to close, fans have not exactly been flooding into the Canada Life Centre to watch their team.
On Tuesday, their team officially hit rock bottom. Their attendance reached an all-time low, something that hasn't been seen since the team moved from Atlanta in 2011.
Their Tuesday night attendance of just 11,226 is officially the lowest in franchise history, not counting games during the 2020-21, and 2021-22 seasons where the team had capacity limits in place.
In fact, this is the lowest attendance the league has seen all season, (excluding the Arizona Coyotes). The second lowest attendance this season thus far was also the Winnipeg Jets for their home opener, with abysmal ticket sales of just 13,410. Approximately 2,000 seats shy of a sellout.
This spells trouble for the Jets, in a league that is looking at all possible options for relocation into bigger US markets. So the question now lingers. Is relocation on the table for the Jets if their attendance figures don't pick up? Possibly.
Other Major cities interested in NHL teams
There are many heavily populated Metropolitan areas in the US which are desperate to bring in an NHL franchise.
Houston, San Diego and Salt Lake City to name a few.
Houston has an NHL-ready arena, and the Rockets (NBA) owner has a dream of bringing a team to the city. San Diego is currently in the planning stages of building a 16,000 seat venue built for an NHL team, and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith has expressed interest in bringing a team to Salt Lake City.
Here is the Jet attendance Pre-Pandemic, with their NHL ranking based on capacity.
Now, let's compare it to 2021-22.
With expansion talks ramping up around the league, Jets fans should be concerned with the way their attendance took a major nosedive. Even their 2022-23 average of 14,045 across 41 home-games ranked them 30th in the NHL, ahead of just San Jose and Arizona.
The Post-Pandemic recovery has brought attendance averages up across the league for all teams, minus the Jets.
Should the Winnipeg Jets relocate?
Yes
No
