Despite fairly brutal season, Devils continue to draw

NEWARK —

This has hardly been one for the history books.

And despite that, the New Jersey Devils continue to draw fairly well this season. Now, it's tough to make a comparison to last season's attendance because that included a crowd of 51,000 at Yankee Stadium — and it counted toward average attendance.

But after the same number of games last year, the Devils were averaging 14,624 a game, while this year, the average crowd is 15,383.

Prudential Center holds 16,592.

Despite their incredible season, the New York Islanders are still third in the metro area attendance-wise. They're averaging 14,776 at the 16,100-seat Nassau Coliseum.

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NYR fans: Want to see a playoff game? Head to Pitt Friday night

Seems to be quite a few tickets available at face value. As of 11:40 a.m., Thursday, May 1.

Available tickets for Penguins-Rangers Game 1 in Pittsburgh Friday night. Each blue dot represents an available seat. If you're a Rangers fan and want to see a playoff game, this might be your best bet. 

Tomorrow’s game v. Chicago is close to a sellout, but could weather keep people away?

There are only a handful of seats left for tomorrow’s home game against the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, but could the weather keep people away?

In the past, inclement weather has always negatively affected Devils’ attendance.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

When tickets to a sold-out game are being sold still, the game is clearly not sold out

Clever use of words by the Devils. If you're offering a raffle for a chance to BUY tickets for a sold-out game, the game really isn't sold out. Nice try, though.

Winter Classic crowd of 105,491 is largest in NHL history

The 2014 Winter Classic saw the largest crowd ever for an NHL game -- 105,491. The Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings, 3-2, in a shootout. The game was hardly a so-called classic though, as snow made it very difficult for players to move and see the puck. Hoping the conditions are better at Yankee Stadium for Devils-Rangers.

Where did 1,033 seats go?

Until this year, when the Devils had a sellout, the attendance was 17,625. Now, this year, when it’s a sellout, the attendance is 16,592.

I asked Rich Chere, of the Star-Ledger, if he had any idea what’s going on -- or why the capacity is suddenly more than 1,000 seats fewer than before.

He says no one in the Devils organization is willing to say what happened or why there’s been a change.

I also sent emails to the organization, as well as direct Tweets, and nothing has been answered.

The mystery continues ...

FINALLY! Someone takes the Coyotes’ attendance issues to task

I used this graphic last year after a poorly attended Coyotes game. It appears little has
changed after the team was finally sold.

Adrian Dater, of Bleacher Report, wrote this piece (click here) about why the Coyotes are out of excuses for their poor attendance. It's a good read. And it's about time someone has finally challenged the team and its fans on the issue.

Tonight’s attendance of 15,226 has me even more confused now

The Devils drew 15,226 tonight for a game against Buffalo, but when I checked the ticket inventory at Ticketmaster.com, there were literally only a countable number left. I’m now wondering if they’re announcing the number of people who actually show up? There is no way there were more than 1,000 seats left for this game this afternoon when I checked.

Devils should have third sellout of the year tonight

Only a limited number of tickets remain for tonight’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres. Looks like the Devils should have their third sellout (of 16,592) tonight at the Prudential Center.

Gulitti: Capacity has changed, as has reporting attendance, with new owners; Rock is full for just second time this season last night

Tom Gulitti of the Record says the Devils new owners have completely changed how attendance is reported — and they’ve also lowered capacity to 16,592, some 1,033 fewer seats than in the arena’s first few years.

Click here to read the report.

Frankly, I am not sure I get what they’re saying here.

— Apparently, the 17,625 figure included standing-room-only and obstructed view seating. The thing is, they say other teams don’t include SRO, when in fact, they often do. A quick look at boxscores and you’ll see teams like the Flyers, Maple Leafs and Blackhawks often report attendance that is well over 100 percent capacity. So on the surface, I don’t get this at all.

— Truly, when has anyone ever heard of the Devils selling SRO tickets anyway? It didn’t even happen in the 2012 Finals.

Vanderbeek

— I was at media day before the Prudential Center opened. Then-owner Jeff Vanderbeek said there wasn’t an obstructed view in the house, and I have never heard anyone complaining of an obstructed view.

— Even if they eliminated obstructed view from calculating what is a sellout, are we really to believe there were more than 1,000 of them in the house? The concept is absurd.

— Regardless of any change in policy, the team’s average attendance is down by more than 3,000 over this same time period last season.

Apparently, later this or next week, the Record will have an expose on how the new owners have changed the capacity — and their new policy on reporting what constitutes as sellout. Additionally, they’ll also be revealing their ticket giveaway policy and sales policy.

As I have been saying for months now, I think we are going to learn that under Vanderbeek, attendance was extremely inflated, both with simply saying the place held more people than it truly does — and in that Vanderbeek comped enormous numbers of tickets last season.

Oh, and by the way, the Devils had a sellout last night v. Carolina at 16,592. And they lost again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Despite decent West Coast trip, Devils attendance woes continue after return home

The Devils had a pretty decent 2-1 West Coast trip last week and came home to play Winnipeg. Only 12,253 showed up at the Rock.

In nine home games, the Devils are averaging 13,913 fans. One year ago, after nine games, their average was 17,311, a difference of 3,398.

At this point, they’ve also yet to sell out a game. One year ago, they’d sold out eight of nine home games.

I cannot even begin to fathom how many free tickets were given away last year to win fans back after the lockout.

On a Saturday night w/Pittsburgh in town, Devils can only draw 14,205

On Saturday nights, the Devils always drew well. Now, not even a Saturday night or the Penguins can help the Devils continued attendance woes.

A crowd of only 14,205 saw the Devils beat Pittsburgh, 4-1, with Martin Brodeur in net.

With the win, the Devils pulled to within 1 point of a playoff spot and, somehow, incredibly, just 5 points from the top of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference.

Over the next few days, I will be looking much deeper into the attendance problems. I’ll try to get the team to speak, but I seriously doubt they will.

Devils have pathetic-sized crowd on Friday for Kings

A crowd of only 12,168 was on hand Friday night to see the Devils first match-up with the Los Angeles Kings since the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. On a Friday night, with the Kings in town — and with the Devils playing better of late, that crowd is unacceptable.

 

They're right back at it tonight with the Penguins in town. I can't imagine they won't have a better crowd tonight. But we'll see in a few hours.

 

Bottom line, attendance has been pathetic this year — and last night's, the smallest crowd of the year, was unacceptable. Overall, the team is 3,000 below last year's average after the same number of home games.

Plenty of seats still available for tonight's game v. Philly

If you were considering going to tonight's game -- don't worry -- there appear to be plenty of seats available in all levels. I still say I am surprised by the poor attendance, given last year's great attendance. I will stick to my initial belief that last year, there were countless discounts and give-aways that aren't being done this year.

Also, I may be very late to the game, but I also noticed the Devils are no longer offering $10 day-of-game seats. They used to only sell those seats near game-time, and now, the cheapest they sell for, those same sections, is $28 a seat -- and as much as $49 for games against the Rangers.

And people ask me why I've not been to a game at the Rock since 2009.

A look at the many seats that appear left for tonight's game.

New feature: ‘Five Things We Learned From Last Night’s Game’

Welcome to a new feature on NJDevsBlog.com — “Five Things We Learned in Last Night’s Game.” We hope to include this on the site after each game for the rest of the season. With that in mind, we begin.

1) Cory Schneider, as a good as he can be and often was last season, is prone to letting up the occasional soft goal. In fairness, Vancouver’s goal that tied the game at 2 from Daniel Sedin at 12:37 of the second period did find the most miniscule space open between Schneider’s pads and the ice — but that’s a shot he saves 99 of 100 times.

2) Attendance at the Rock on weeknights is going to be awful this season. Last year, the Devils were coming off their improbably run to the Finals. The lockout had everyone longing for hockey. But this year’s quite different, coming off a non-playoff year — and starting the 2013-14 season off with 1 win in 10 games. Only 13,203 were at the Rock on a Thursday night with one of the league’s better teams in Newark. Imagine what happens when lesser teams are here on a Tuesday?

3) Peter DeBoer has to be feeling the pressure. A Bleacher Report story lists him as the second-most likely coach to be fired in-season.

Could Peter DeBoer be the next NHL coach to be fired?

4) The Devils have been in four shootouts this year — with three players shooting in each. Not one has scored a goal in said shootout. Remember not too long ago when a Devils shootout was almost a guaranteed extra point? No more.

5) Eric Gelinas was sparky last night, scoring his for NHL goal to give the Devils a 2-1 lead in the first period. He’s a keeper as far as I am concerned. He appeared to be one of the few out there who actually enjoyed being on the ice.

5B) Tell me it wasn’t the slightest bit weird to see John Tortorella behind the bench for Vancouver? I will admit it — I was hoping there’d be occasion for another shout fest between him and Pete. For all of you who say our coach is too passive, remember when the two of them nearly threw benches at each other? 

This guy could be coaching Mites on Ice and I’d still detest him.

Were last year’s sellout numbers simply a fluke? Sure seems so

NEWARK – Just a season ago, the New Jersey Devils sold out 18 of 24 home games at the Prudential Center. The sixth game of that season was the first non-sellout dating back to the season before that’s next-to-last home game. (They sold out the final game of the year and all of their games through the Stanley Cup Finals).

Now, one game into the new season, the Devils were 1,001 short of a sellout. Attendance was 16,624 and the capacity is 17,625.

This is a huge disappointment, based on several factors:

• First, it’s Opening Night. Opening Night should sell out everywhere (though it often doesn’t in the NHL).

• It was a Friday night. No excuses about it being a school night or anything of that nature at all.

• The game was against the resurgent New York Islanders – and there’s finally a rivalry developing between these two teams.

We wonder: How did the Devils sell out 18 of 24 last year? Was it a fluke?

• New ownership, new players, new goalie, new direction – there was a lot for people to get to see last night – and not too many did.

I don’t want to come across like some Oliver Stone conspiracy theorist, but there are a lot of questions based on the team not selling out last night.

• Was last year simply a fluke? Were people simply excited after the prior year’s run to the Finals? See how good attendance was by reading this Wall Street Journal piece from February. http://goo.gl/51pPRm

• Was it simply a matter of people missing hockey last year after the prolonged lockout?

• Were the Devils seriously marking down ticket prices – or giving loads of tickets away – to induce people to come to the arena for games last year?

• Would attendance have been anywhere near as good as it was last year if it hadn’t been a shortened season?

Truth be told, I think it’s a combination of all the aforementioned. The Finals run of 2012 and the shortened season made the Devils hot. 

And I wonder, now, if we’re going to see crowds of 11,000 on weeknights again this year? And if we do, I think it’ll be safe to say last year was an utter fluke.

But I am willing to give it time before making a total judgment. It is, after all, just one game. The problem is, however, that it was Opening Night – and if Opening Night is any indication of what lies ahead, I’m not so sure I want to see that.

Odds and Ends

Devs fans will need to get their share
of saying the word suck elsewhere now
that the team’s goal song’s been changed

The Devils finally got rid of “Rock & Roll Part II” as their goal song. But it seems fans at the game last night weren’t pleased by it at all. I mean, chanting “suck” about the Rangers and “swallow” about the Flyers isn’t enough.

These fans need to chant “you suck,” after every freaking goal. 

I wrote it before (http://goo.gl/IYHUhy) – and I will say it again – that chant is sophomoric and it makes every single solitary Devils fan look idiotic. Management made the right call getting rid of the Gary Glitter song – and I hope they don’t cave in here. 

Sure, the new song may not have been the best choice – and perhaps they do need to consider choosing a better one – but if they go back to “Part II,” all they’d be saying is sure, we’re fine with our fans looking and sounding like complete and utter asses.

To make matters worse, there were some on Twitter last night who said they wouldn’t stop bitching about the change until the Glitter song came back.

Here’s to hoping said people are bitching for a long, long time. Get over it. Move on.

Find some other way to make yourself look like a sophomoric ass.

Devils fall 1,001 short of a sellout on Opening Night

Attendance at tonight’s home opener was 16,624 – 1,001 seats short of a sellout. This really makes me wonder about last year’s sellouts – there had to be thousands of tickets given away last year. If there were as many sellouts as there were last year with the team as bad as it was, there had to be tons of giveaways. There is no excuse – period – for this team to not have a sellout on Opening Night, a Friday night no less! Bad job all around.

2 of 8 home openers last night weren’t sellouts; Devils Opening Night tickets still available in abundance

There were eight home openers in the NHL on Thursday, Oct. 3, and of them, two weren’t sellouts.

• In Dallas, 16,100 were on hand for the Stars’ opener – 86.9 percent full.

• In St. Louis, 18,851 were on hand for the Blues’ home opener – 98 percent full.

Meanwhile, the Devils open at home tonight at 7 p.m. (MSG, WFAN) against the New York Islanders.  Given how well the team drew last year, I am disappointed by what appears to be a significant number of tickets available for the game tonight.

I am including two images – one from each end of the ice – of available seats for tonight’s game. You’ll notice there are a ton still available in the lower tier — and entirely too many in the uppers for day of game.

Then again, we were under the same scenario on Opening Night last year, and the game would wind up a sellout.

As of now, however, my guess is it won’t be sold out – and if it is, it’s because the team buys the seats themselves.

Once again, the average hockey fan is priced out of most games. The ticket prices are entirely too high for regular-season games. The ticket prices are entirely too high period. We’ll know, however, in just a few hours.

Of course, our ticket partner, TiqIQ has plenty of good seats available, some at or below face value. So if you’re considering going tonight, check out what they’ve got – and you’ll likely score a good deal.

A look at some – of the many – remaining seats for tonight’s game as of 11 a.m.

6 games, 2 nights, 6 sellouts

There have been six games in the first two nights of the new NHL season, and all six have been sellouts. This year, we’ll report only when there aren’t sellouts – so if you notice a day that goes by without an attendance post, it’s safe to assume all games the night before sold out.

Devils have 4 October home dates, ticket sales not looking so great

The New Jersey Devils have 4 home games in October — and based on what I’ve seen on Ticketmaster’s website, ticket sales don’t look half as good as they did last year early on.

Opening Night against the Islanders is close to sold out, but there are still quantities of upper-level seats that are not just single-seating.

The game against the New York Rangers has some seats available in pairs or more in the lower tier, but most of the upper tier are single-seats only.

Two other games — against Vancouver and Tampa Bay — have plenty of seating throughout the arena.

This makes me wonder if last year’s fantastic attendance was a one and done deal. Or, whether tickets were being given away last year to fill seats.

I realize it’s still early on — and that with 41 home dates instead of 24, selling out often won’t be as easy as it was a year ago.

But we’ll continue, as we did last season, to keep you updated on ticket availability and attendance.

Also, don’t forget — you can often get good deals on tickets to Devils games by using our TiqIQ graphic on the upper-right-hand corner of each page of this website.