THE DAILY has examined NHL teams' attendance figures to gauge the effect of the league's mid-season break for the Nagano Olympic Games from February 8 through February 21. The Hurricanes enjoyed the biggest post-Nagano increase, with attendance up 20% since the Olympic break. In addition to the Hurricanes, the Sabres, Blues and Blackhawks all saw double-digit percentage increases after Nagano. The Islanders experienced the largest drop, down 12% after the Games, while the Caps and Canucks were down 11% and 10%, respectively. The following is a full listing (THE DAILY):
| PRE-NAGANO | POST-NAGANO | |
TEAM | DATES | AVG. | % CAP | DATES | AVG. | % CAP | +/- % |
CAR | 31 | 8,570 | 54% | 10 | 10,767 | 68% | + 20% |
BUF | 27 | 14,923 | 80% | 14 | 17,007 | 91% | + 12% |
STL | 31 | 17,813 | 92% | 10 | 20,317 | 96% | + 12% |
CHI | 28 | 17,709 | 83% | 13 | 19,734 | 90% | + 10% |
BOS | 27 | 14,638 | 83% | 14 | 15,984 | 91% | + 8% |
NJD | 28 | 16,848 | 88% | 13 | 18,263 | 95% | + 8% |
LAK | 26 | 12,754 | 80% | 15 | 13,480 | 85% | + 5% |
EDM | 28 | 16,054 | 94% | 13 | 16,656 | 98% | + 4% |
DAL | 27 | 16,332 | 97% | 14 | 16,792 | 100% | + 3% |
MON | 28 | 20,673 | 97% | 13 | 20,984 | 98% | + 1% |
OTT | 28 | 16,272 | 88% | 13 | 16,530 | 89% | + 2% |
SJS | 29 | 17,045 | 97% | 12 | 17,216 | 98% | + 1% |
COL | 31 | 16,061 | 100% | 10 | 16,061 | 100% | 0% |
TOR | 28 | 15,703 | 100% | 13 | 15,726 | 100% | 0% |
FLA | 28 | 14,703 | 100% | 13 | 14,703 | 100% | 0% |
PHI | 27 | 19,466 | 100% | 14 | 19,622 | 100% | 0% |
NYR | 28 | 18,200 | 100% | 13 | 18,200 | 100% | 0% |
DET | 29 | 19,983 | 100% | 12 | 19,983 | 100% | 0% |
CGY | 29 | 16,897 | 90% | 12 | 16,786 | 90% | - 1% |
TAM | 27 | 13,687 | 70% | 14 | 12,876 | 66% | - 6% |
PIT | 26 | 15,059 | 89% | 15 | 14,086 | 83% | - 7% |
ANA | 29 | 17,027 | 99% | 12 | 15,742 | 92% | - 8% |
PHX | 26 | 15,096 | 93% | 15 | 13,927 | 86% | - 8% |
VAN | 27 | 17,221 | 93% | 14 | 15,698 | 93% | - 10% |
WAS | 26 | 15,490 | 81% | 15 | 13,870 | 73% | - 11% |
NYI | 27 | 12,416 | 76% | 14 | 11,100 | 68% | - 12% |
NOTE: The Capitals played their first 10 games at US Airways Arena before moving to the MCI Center. -30-