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Emily KaplanESPN
The Vegas Golden Knights made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, but according to ticket sellers, the magic hasn’t run out just yet.
The Golden Knights are the most in-demand team for the second year in a row, according to StubHub data. Vegas is outselling the Toronto Maple Leafs, the second-top-selling team, by 27 percent. This marks the first time a team has topped StubHub’s NHL list two seasons in a row since the Chicago Blackhawks reigned from 2014-2016. Meanwhile, Vivid Seats reports that it has seen double the volume of sales for the Golden Knights as their No. 2-selling team, the New York Rangers.
The Golden Knights are in four of StubHub’s top-10 most in-demand games for the 2018-19 season. Last season, the Golden Knights filled T-Mobile Arena at a 103.9 percent capacity. Home games became as much of a sporting event as an entertainment spectacle, with an elaborate pregame ceremony in the playoffs that evoked a Medieval Times reenactment.
Vegas opened its preseason slate on Sunday with an exhibition against the Arizona Coyotes. The team reported a sellout, with 17,567 in attendance. The Golden Knights have doubled-down on their surprise success by being big-game hunters this summer. Vegas signed center Paul Stastny in free agency and recently traded for former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty.
Vegas isn’t the only team that’s drawing buzz on StubHub. Since the signing of John Tavares, the Maple Leafs spiked in popularity. According to StubHub, Toronto has a 49 percent increase in demand since last season.
The Washington Capitals are enjoying a post-Stanley Cup championship bump. The Capitals rank No. 6 on StubHub’s in-demand list — their highest ranking in the past five seasons. Vivid Seats reports the Capitals represent their largest year-over-year percent increase in sales.
Two new teams moved into StubHub’s top-10 in-demand list after missing out last season: the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings. The Sabres, a bottom-dweller in the standings last season, are a trendy sleeper pick for 2018-19 after a significant offseason in which they drafted defenseman Rasmus Dahlin No. 1 overall and traded for winger Jeff Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes. The Los Angeles Kings, meanwhile, won the sweepstakes for free-agent Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian winger has not played in the NHL since the 2012-13 season.