NHL sets all-time total attendance record in 2023-24

The NHL’s 2023-24 regular season has set an all-time record for total attendance in a single season.

According to the league, the eight-game slate pushed the total attendance figure for the regular season with 22,560,634 with 1,294 games played, surpassing the previous high of 22,436,532 set in 2022-23.

NHL games have played up to 97 percent capacity at the 36 host venues, which includes 32 regular NHL arenas, plus three outdoor venues in Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, T-Mobile Park in Seattle, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. and Avicci Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fans have seen one of the best offensive seasons in modern history, with nine players hitting the 100-point mark going into Tuesday night’s slate of games.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has 43 goals and 99 assists for 142 points, followed by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon scoring 51 goals and 87 assists for 138 points and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid scoring 32 goals and 100 assists for 132 points.

McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season on Monday. The only players to reach the 100-assist mark in NHL history are Bobby Orr in 1970-71, Mario Lemieux in 1988-89 and Wayne Gretzky, who did it 11 times through his 20-year career. The last time a player hit the mark was in 1990-91 when Gretzky did it with the Los Angeles Kings.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Auston Matthews hit the 100-point mark for the second time in his career, but is also one goal shy of hitting the 70-goal mark. He would become the first player since 1992-93 to hit the high mark. He also became the first player in over 30 years to score 50 even-strength goals in a season.

There are 18 games remaining in the regular season, which concludes on Thursday, that will add to the record total.