NHL’s Smallest-Market Team Is Breaking Records, Securing Its Future

The team in the NHL’s smallest media market, with a metro population of about 850,000, just beat one in the league’s largest, with more than 19 million people, putting a dramatic crescendo on one of the biggest sports stories that many are likely missing.

Winnipeg doubled up the New York Rangers, last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, 6–3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, making the Jets the first team in league history to win 15 of their first 16 games in a season. Beyond a historically hot start on the ice, though, the torrid play arrives at a particularly opportune time while franchise leaders look to solidify one of the NHL’s more tenuous situations. 

In February, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman traveled to Winnipeg to show support for the Jets and the market, meeting with local politicians, corporate sponsors, and media. That visit arrived soon after Jets chair and co-owner Mark Chipman said the franchise could not “work over the long haul” there without a sizable boost in season-ticket sales. 

Nearly nine months later, the long-term questions are still there but with some material signs of progress. The Jets have a league-leading 16% boost in attendance thus far this season to 13,764 per game through nine home games. That figure, however, is elevating on a low base as the team still ranks 30th in the league. The 15,321-seat Canada Life Centre also is the NHL’s smallest arena outside of the Utah Hockey Club’s Delta Center, which features a large number of obstructed seats not counted in official attendance figures. 

The Jets have also sold out two home games thus far, something that didn’t happen at all in the 2023–2024 season until Dec. 30. Season-ticket sales have grown from 9,500 last year to about 10,000, and every new sale is a meaningful win in a market without a large corporate base. 

“I think they are pleased with their progress,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly tells Front Office Sports. 

Workmanlike Approach

The Jets’ on-ice success, meanwhile, is happening without a major star, instead relying on a highly balanced offensive attack. The team does feature goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner and this season’s leader so far in goals against average. But there is not a player even approaching the broader fame of a Connor McDavid or an Alexander Ovechkin anywhere on the Jets’ roster. The Jets’ league-leading 73 goals have also come from 16 different players. 

“We know what we’re doing, but we don’t take too much stock in it,” said Jets forward Kyle Connor. “It’s ‘move on to the next one.’ It’s ‘How can we improve? How can we be better?’ I think that’s what has made us successful to this point. Nobody’s satisfied. We won 15 here, but I just think that speaks to leadership not getting comfortable.”

Winnipeg plays next Thursday at Tampa Bay, and it will be back home Nov. 19 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.