Most Stressed NHL Fans This 2025-26 Season
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Who are the most stressed NHL betting fans so far during the 2025-26 season? To determine which teams are the most stressed, Bookies.com used data from Hootsuite.com, MoreHockeyStats.com, RotoWire.com Injury Report, and Stathead.com to create a scoring system of the most stressed fans so far this season.
The criteria we used include:
- close games
- overtime games
- time spent trailing during a game this season
- current record (as of 12/4)
- losing streaks
- fan sentiment
- major injuries
- In the table below, the fanbases with the most stress have the highest scores so far this season, with the fanbases with the lowest scores having the least amount of stress.
Most Stressed NHL Fans
| Rank | Team | Score |
| 1 | Calgary Flames | 117.0 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 106.0 |
| 3 | Nashville Predators | 103.1 |
| 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 102.9 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | 101.8 |
| 6 | New York Islanders | 98.9 |
| 7 | Utah Mammoth | 94.9 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 91.8 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | 90.9 |
| 10 | San Jose Sharks | 87.8 |
| 11 | Chicago Blackhawks | 86.5 |
| 12 | Vegas Golden Knights | 85.9 |
| 13 | Edmonton Oilers | 85.8 |
| 14 | Boston Bruins | 85.0 |
| 15 | Seattle Kraken | 83.9 |
| 16 | Philadelphia Flyers | 83.1 |
| T17 | Washington Capitals | 74.8 |
| T17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 74.8 |
| 19 | New Jersey Devils | 70.9 |
| 20 | New York Rangers | 68.8 |
| 21 | Detroit Red Wings | 66.9 |
| 22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 63.7 |
| 23 | Los Angeles Kings | 62.8 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 60.6 |
| 25 | Dallas Stars | 59.7 |
| 26 | Ottawa Senators | 56.8 |
| 27 | Carolina Hurricanes | 44.6 |
| 28 | Minnesota Wild | 44.5 |
| 29 | Anaheim Ducks | 43.7 |
| 30 | Winnipeg Jets | 42.8 |
| 31 | Colorado Avalanche | 38.4 |
| 32 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 33.6 |
Flames, Sabres top The List
For the most-stressed fans, right at No. 1 are the Calgary Flames. As of 12/4, the Flames are the worst team in the league with a poor 9-15-4 record and only 22 points. While the team has some solid players on the roster, their management figures to trade away made of the team's stars at the trade deadline, further weakening the team. The only saving grace is that the Flames have some solid young prospects on the come-up and should also get a high draft pick this season.
Coming in at No. 2 are the Buffalo Sabres. This also makes sense, since the Sabres currently have the longest playoff drought in the NHL at 14 seasons in a row, and seem likely to make it 15 in a row this year as the team is currently one of the worst teams in the league. At No. 3 are the Nashville Predators. They are currently tied with the Flames for the least amount of points in the league at just 22 as of 12/4, though they have two games in hand. Still, the Predators are a bad team with several bad contracts and very little in the way of promising prospects. Then, we have the Vancouver Canucks at No. 4. Again, this is a team outside of the playoffs, and they seem likely to trade captain Quinn Hughes at the trade deadline to restock their prospect cupboard. Finally, rounding out the bottom five are the St. Louis Blues, another bad team this season.
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Lightning Weather Scattered Storms
For the least-stressed fans, it should come as no surprise that the best teams in the league are at the bottom of the list. At No. 32 are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference as of 12/4 with 34 points. The Lightning have been one of the most successful teams in recent years, so their fans are still riding high on their multiple Stanley Cup appearances early in the decade. Following right behind at No. 31 are the Colorado Avalanche, who are the No. 1 team in the Western Conference and the best team overall in the NHL so far this season. The Avalanche have an incredible 19-1-6 record as of 12/4, giving them 41 points this season. They are the Stanley Cup favorite right now, and won the Stanley Cup only three years ago.
Also at the bottom of the list are the Winnipeg Jets, who come in at No. 30. The Jets are currently out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the team has been steady in recent years, and their fans likely believe a turnaround will come soon. Right behind them at No. 29 are the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks have been a bad team in recent seasons, but they currently lead the Pacific Division with 33 points and are arguably the breakout team of this season with their crop of young players. Following right behind them at No. 28 are the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are currently in the playoffs and have some of the top young players i the league, so it makes sense that their fanbase is excited about both the current and future, leading to minimal stress.
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Key Takeaways
So, what conclusion can we draw from this data? Based on our scores, it seems clear that bad teams stress their fans out the most, as the five highest-ranked teams are five of the six worst teams as of 12/4 in terms of points. The lone exception is the Florida Panthers, who are having a bad season but who won the last two Stanley Cups. On the flipside, good teams don't stress their teams out as much, as three of the five lowest-ranked teams currently lead their divisions, and four are in the playoff position, with the lone exception to this being the Winnipeg Jets. So, a message to NHL management and coaches: if you have a good team, your fans won't be stressed, but if you have a bad team that doesn't win, then your fans are going to be very stressed out.
Q&A:
Q. What factors make certain NHL fanbases more stressed than others?
A: Fan stress comes from a mix of on-ice performance and off-ice sentiment. Teams create more stressed fanbases when they play lots of close or overtime games, spend significant time trailing, go through losing streaks, have poor or inconsistent records, deal with major injuries, and/or generate negative reactions from fans online.
Q. Why are the Calgary Flames ranked as the most stressed NHL fanbase?
A: The Calgary Flames ranked as the most stressed fanbase out of the entire NHL as a result of a higher number of close games, significant time spent trailing during games, their current standings, player injuries and losing streaks.
Q. How is the NHL fan stress score calculated?
A: The score combines several weighted factors: close and overtime games, time spent trailing, current record, losing streaks, fan sentiment data, and major injuries. These metrics—drawn from Hootsuite, MoreHockeyStats, RotoWire, and Stathead—are blended into a single number, with higher scores indicating more stressed fanbases.
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