The most expensive NHL ticket prices were revealed and it's bad news for Canadiens fans
October is here. And while this time of year brings plenty of nice things, like falling leaves, pumpkin spice everything, and sweater weather, in Montreal, it marks the return of something even bigger: hockey season.
The Canadiens officially kicked off their 2026-27 campaign last week, and for the first time in a long time, the Habs look like real contenders.
But as the team emerges from a years-long rebuild, watching them play in person doesn't come cheap. In fact, a new analysis ranked the Bell Centre as the NHL's most expensive arena for a family of four.
Canada Sports Betting recently analyzed all 32 NHL arenas to estimate the cost of a typical game day for a family of four. Its package includes four tickets, two beers, two soft drinks, four hot dogs and one parking spot.
The ticket portion of the study was based on more than 180,000 individual Ticketmaster listings, including resale listings where available, with statistical outliers removed before team-level averages were calculated. It's worth noting that the figures reflect listed/asking prices rather than completed transaction or sale prices.
The methodology also notes that ticket prices can vary depending on the opponent, seat location and day of the week.
Concession prices were based on historical data adjusted for inflation, while parking was based on representative game-day rates from official arena or team sources, official parking partners or SpotHero, depending on what was available for each venue.
The Bell Centre came out on top in the analysis, with an estimated family-of-four total of $1,565.56.
That's $508.29 more than the league average of $1,057.27, and over $100 more than the second-most expensive arena in the ranking, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Here's what $1,565 gets you
As you might expect, ticket prices make up the vast majority of the total. Here's the full breakdown for a Canadiens game in Montreal, according to the research:
- Four tickets: $1,471.01
- Two beers: $28.48
- Two soft drinks: $16.06
- Four hot dogs: $17.51
- Parking: $32.50
Based on the study's Ticketmaster data, that works out to an average price of roughly $368 per listed ticket.
Here's the silver lining, though. Once you're inside, the arena's prices aren't that bad (well, at least compared to some other rinks). The Bell Centre's food and drink total of $62.05 is well below the NHL average of $86.26, and parking also comes in under the league average of $36.81.
So, according to the analysis, it's not the hot dogs driving Montreal's ranking. It's the ticket listings.
The most expensive NHL arenas for families
Here's the top five:
- Montreal Canadiens (Bell Centre): $1,565.56
- Vegas Golden Knights (T-Mobile Arena): $1,459.57
- Toronto Maple Leafs (Scotiabank Arena): $1,394.91
- Boston Bruins (TD Garden): $1,375.88
- New York Rangers (Madison Square Garden): $1,364.37
Because ticket prices can vary depending on the opponent, seat location and day of the week, the amount an individual fan or family spends could be higher or lower than the figures in the study.
How other Canadian teams compare
Canadian arenas landed at both ends of the ranking. Here's where all seven ended up:
- Montreal Canadiens: 1st, $1,565.56
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 3rd, $1,394.91
- Edmonton Oilers: 9th, $1,206.54
- Calgary Flames: 20th, $921.83
- Vancouver Canucks: 25th, $827.31
- Winnipeg Jets: 31st, $732.92
- Ottawa Senators: 32nd, $712.70
That's right, Ottawa had the lowest estimated family cost in the analysis, and it's just a two-hour drive away. The study put the family-of-four total at Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre at $712.70, a full $852.86 less than the estimate for Montreal.
So if you're desperate to catch a Habs game without draining your savings, it might be worth keeping an eye on their next trip to Kanata.
This article has been updated.
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