The first round was huge in terms of ratings, at least on the Canadian side of the border. Sportsnet alone reached more than 6 million total viewers combined between the first round matchups involving the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Canucks, and Jets. Half of those viewers came from the Leafs-Bruins series alone.
Fans correctly pointed out how the Leafs are always the number one team for ratings. One fan joked that Sportsnet's executives could retire if the Leafs ever make it to the Stanley Cup final.
Other fans piggybacked on this idea, noting how influential the Leafs are on the league as a whole, at least in terms of viewership. The Leafs arguably have the largest impact on the league in terms of the salary cap due to high revenues.
Given how good ratings are when the Leafs are in the playoffs, it would probably be good for the league as a whole if the team went on a deep run sometime soon. We will have to wait at least one more year for that to happen though.
POLL | ||
MAI 7 | 163 ANSWERS NHL viewership numbers emerge: shocking Are you surprised by how strong the ratings were for the Leafs-Bruins series? | ||
Yes | 38 | 23.3 % |
No | 125 | 76.7 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Oliver Bjorkstrand | 1 | - | 1 | |
Filip Chytil | 1 | - | 1 | |
Reilly Smith | 1 | - | 1 | |
Brandon Tanev | 1 | - | 1 | |
Vincent Trocheck | 1 | - | 1 | |
Matthew Beniers | - | 1 | 1 | |
Will Cuylle | - | 1 | 1 | |
Adam Fox | - | 1 | 1 | |
Kaapo Kakko | - | 1 | 1 | |
Tye Kartye | - | 1 | 1 | |
K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
Mitchell Stephens | - | 1 | 1 | |
Chandler Stephenson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Mika Zibanejad | - | 1 | 1 | |
William Borgen | - | - | - | |
Andre Burakovsky | - | - | - | |
Sam Carrick | - | - | - | |
Vince Dunn | - | - | - | |
Adam Edstrom | - | - | - | |
Ryker Evans | - | - | - | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 40 | |
Wild | 27 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 40 | |
Jets | 28 | 20 | 8 | - | 40 | |
Golden Knights | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 39 | |
Devils | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 38 | |
Panthers | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 27 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 35 | |
Kings | 27 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 35 | |
Maple Leafs | 27 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 34 | |
Bruins | 29 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 33 | |
Conference | Cumulative |