The Most “Ice Cold” Fan Bases in the NHL
Summarize this post
As we skate towards the beginning of NHL season fans across the entire league are hungry for some action-packed games. When the puck doesn’t drop their way, fans express their frustration through some poor behaviors like name-calling, drink tossing, or physical fights.
While each fan base has their own opinion on who the most ‘ice cold’ or aggressive NHL fans are, we blocked out the noise and went straight to the stats. Through a nationwide survey and weighted index score, we analyzed sportsmanship behaviors of 3,000 US and Canadian NHL fans. We measured everything from the frequency of booing, cheering for the opposing team’s injuries, general lack of empathy, and more!
Key Findings:
- Dallas Stars have the #1 most ‘ice cold’ fans, scoring 83.8/100 – dethroning last year’s champions, the Chicago Blackhawks
- Out of the Canadian NHL teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs fans are the most ‘ice cold’
- Vegas Golden Knights fans are the ‘warmest’ or kindest in the league, with a low aggression score of 16.8/100
What the puck!? These are the most ‘ice cold’ NHL fan bases
To determine the most ‘ice cold’ fan bases, we surveyed 3,000 NHL fans on the following criteria into a weighted aggression index: frequency of booing, cheering for the opposing team’s injuries, engaging in poor behaviors, trash-talking on the opposing team’s social media platforms, unapologetic towards past poor behaviors, lack of empathy for the opposing team’s losses, and self-reflection rating on their own fan base’s sportsmanship quality.
Dallas Stars? Most like Dallas Scars, thanks to their fans. They’ve skated into the #1 spot as the most “ice cold” in the entire league, with a frosty score of 83.8/100. To drop the puck, 27.27% have confessed to dropping the gloves with the opposing fan base – the highest percentage in the NHL! Nearly half (47%) admit they show no empathy for the other team’s loss, plus an additional 47.1% feel no regrets about their past unsportsmanlike behavior. You’re definitely skating on thin ice when it comes to Blackhawks fans.
Detroit Red Wings rank the #2 most ‘ice cold’ in the entire league, with a chilling score of 83.6/100. Among the 34% who actively engage in mischievous actions, 53.19% feel no remorse for their not-so-kind attitudes; while another 51.06% admit to not emphasizing with the opposing team’s losses. About 1 in 6 fans admit to cheering when the rival player gets injured, while 1 in 3 enjoy booking the other team and their fans! The Detroit Red Wings fans are sure seeing red in the rink!
Philadelphia Flyers fans glide into #3 on the ‘ice cold’ rankings, scoring an icy 82.9/100. They’ve carved out a reputation as one of the toughest crowds in hockey, with 70% chillingly admitting to a lack of empathy when the other team loses. Another 67.5% show zero regrets about their past behaviors; while another 62% say they regularly boo at games – the highest percentage in the league. In Philly, the welcome mat is always rolled up.
The San Jose Sharks rank #4 out of 32, with 80.2 points, while the Buffalo Sabres rank #5 overall, with a score of 79.2.
The heart of hockey: NHL’s kindest fan bases
Vegas Golden Knights fans can proudly claim the title of the NHL’s kindest fan base – a huge jump from last year’s #5 kindest ranking! Scoring only 16.8/100 points on the aggression scale, you’re more likely to share a friendly pint than a punch with these guys. About 76.9% avoid any penalty-box behavior and a whopping 88.5% don’t indulge in trash-talking on social media. When asked to rate their own fan base’s sportsmanship levels, they scored an impressive 3.9 out of 5.
The St. Louis Blues are singing a sweet tune because they rank #2 on the kindest fans list, with a gentle score of 17/100. Their fan base earns a strong 4/5 on the sportsmanship scale, proving they know how to keep the game classy. When it comes to ugly moments, they’re at the very bottom – just 5% cheering for injuries, the #2 lowest percentage in the league. And off the ice, 90.9% stay away from trash talk on social media. In other words, Blues fans bring more harmony than hostility.
The Minnesota Wild live up to their “Minnesota Nice” reputation, landing a low 19.3/100 aggression score and earning the #3 spot among the league’s kindest fans. A remarkable 97.5% refuse to cheer for injuries, the lowest rate in the NHL! On top of that, 78.3% steer clear of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Living up to the Canadian stereotype, the Edmonton Oilers come in as the #4 kindest fan base (20.7), while the Montreal Canadiens follow close behind at #5. For Canadiens fans, this marks a major shift, as they held the title of the most aggressive Canadian team last year! Looks like they’ve swapped the body checks for polite “sorrys”.
Decoding NHL fan culture: Behaviors, attitudes, and loyalty
On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), the average NHL fan rates their fan base’s sportsmanship levels at 3.7, just a notch about decent. This, of course, might vary depending on their team’s performance.
You’re more likely to be hearing a chorus of ‘woo’ than ‘boo’ at the rink, as the average fan registers a 2.6 average booing frequency on a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (always). Keeping the positive vibes going, only 17% actually go out of their way to trash-talk their rivalries on social media.
On the flip side, while most hockey fans cringe at the sight of the other team’s athletes getting injured, 13.6% revel in it. Adding to the wound, 83.6% admit they don’t feel any remorse for their past poor interactions with other fans. However, to keep the hockey spirit positive, 42% do empathize with other teams’ losses.
In comes the fouls in the rink, out comes the foul language in the seats! Trash-talking seems to be the #1 go-to unsportsmanlike behavior for 82.9%, when things don’t go their way. Taunting comes in as the next, where 55.5% of fans try to provoke others for a reaction. Only a mere 5.4% get sloppy by tossing food or drinks in frustration or drop the gloves for a physical altercation (3.7%).
Interestingly enough, 48.7% of fans reveal they’ll stand by their team if they engage in poor misconduct or scandals. Only 44.2% feel indifferent to the situation, while 17.1% would cut their loyalty ties. Like team, like fans?
2024’s fan base rankings, for comparison
Conclusion
All things considered, despite the variety of attitudes seen across the NHL league, it’s evident that fans’ reactions stem from their intense passion and love for both the sport and their team. May be best team win this season!
Methodology
In September 2025, we conducted a nationwide study of 3,000 US and Canadian NHL fans, asking about their sportsmanship behaviors.
From there, we created a weighted index to analyze and weight a multitude of aggression-like factors to determine the ‘ice cold’ and kindest NHL fan bases:
- Participated in physical fights – 25%
- Cheers for injuries – 15%
- Engages in poor behaviors (trash-talking, taunting, etc.) – 15%
- Doesn’t regret poor behaviors – 15%
- Lacks empathy for the opposing team’s loss – 15%
- High booing frequency – 5%
- Trash-talks on the opposing team’s social media accounts – 5%
- Self-rated sportsmanship ranking – 5%
The average age of respondents was 40.9 years old. The representative sample comprised of 57.5% male, 41.9% female, 0.4% transgender, and 0.3% other.
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