In the 2012-2013 season, six of the seven Canadian teams set their average ticket price at $70. The NHL average is $64. The five most expensive ticket prices in the league are all Canadian teams –Toronto ($120), Montreal ($99), Winnipeg Jets ($95), Vancouver ($90), and Edmonton Oilers ($79). In the NHL ticket revenues are incredibly important as the home team keeps 100% of the gate money. The top teams in gate revenue last year were Toronto ($2.2 million), Montreal ($2.1 million), Vancouver ($1.8 million), New York Rangers ($1.8 million), with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers tied at ($1.6 million). Small market Canadian teams do much better financially than small market American teams. The Edmonton Oilers, for example, are one of the financially strongest teams in the NHL, whereas the Florida Panthers almost have to give their tickets away for free and post an operating loss. Canada’s six-year, $600 million TV deal with CBC expires at the end of the 2013-2014 season. Renewal of that deal was sold to Rogers Communications for $5.3 billion over 12 years, starting next season. whether with CBC exclusively or in conjunction with TSN and Rogers Sportsnet—could go for $200 million per season. For comparison, the NHL’s American TV deal is a 10-year, $187 million a season deal with NBC Sports that started in the 2011-2012 season. Obviously, richer television contracts mean a bigger increase in revenue. Let’s take a look at the most valuable NHL teams:
