With the official announcement that NHL hockey is returning on January 13th, we're starting to get an idea of how many arenas will be allowing fans to attend games at the start of the season. So far, up to three teams will likely have some of their seats filled when action gets underway.
As we reported Sunday, the Dallas Stars have announced they'll have approximately 5,000 fans in attendance on opening day. The team is hoping to increase attendance as the season goes on.
According to Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Florida Panthers are also planning to sell tickets for games. The team has not yet stated exactly how many fans will be able to attend. Also, as Pagnotta points out, the Toronto Raptors are currently playing in the same building as the Tampa Bay Lightning with fans in attendance, so it stands to reason that the Bolts will do the same, although an official announcement has not yet been made.
It's expected other teams will announce their plans for attendance in the coming weeks. That said, it would be very surprising if any Canadian teams would be participating in that at the moment. It's not even clear yet where the Canadian teams will be playing and, even if it is at their home arenas, it is very unlikely there will be anyone there other than players, staff and broadcast teams.
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