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NHL Beer Cost Index 2013-14: Who gives you the most suds for your bucks?

Greg Wyshynski

The Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index

is that publication’s tabulation of how much a night at the arena costs fans, from tickets to parking to the really important stuff ...

… like BEER.

When the FCI is released, your friends at Puck Daddy take their beer data – they typically list the lowest-priced brew in the arena for all NHL teams – and create what we like to call the Beer Cost Index.

The Beer Cost Index uses the data provided by Team Marketing Report to tabulate the highest and the lowest prices for brew around the NHL on a cost-per-ounce basis. We also have a "Beer Lover's Cost": Assuming one arena brew for each 20 minutes of play, added to the fraction of your average non-premium season-ticket price for that period.

Please note: TMR relies on teams to report their own smallest-sized and/or cheapest beer prices, so fudging might be evident. Someone out there — and you know who you are — will go into the comments and say "GOOD LUCK FINDING BEER PRICE X AT ARENA Y!" We're relying on the TMR numbers. Trying to get that info from teams ourselves proved pointless in years’ passed.

Also, please note, from TMR: “All prices are converted to USD at the exchange rate of $1CAD=$.959413 USD. We adjust the previous year’s pricing to current exchange rate to make the comparison fair.” Ditto ticket prices from Canadian dollars to U.S.

So who gives you the most suds for the buck in the NHL?

Here is the 2013-14 Puck Daddy Beer Cost Index …

Team

Avg. Ticket Price

Beer Price (oz)

Beer Cost Per Ounce

Beer Lover’s Cost Per Period

Toronto Maple Leafs

$122.20

$6.96(16)

$0.44

$47.69

Vancouver Canucks

$91.45

$7.44(12)

$0.62

$37.92

Winnipeg Jets

$81.49

$7.68(12)

$0.64

$34.84

New York Rangers

$74.89

$8.75(12)

$0.72

$33.71

Boston Bruins

$73.91

$8.25(16)

$0.52

$32.89

Edmonton Oilers

$75.94

$7.44(16)

$0.47

$32.75

Philadelphia Flyers

$71.59

$8.25(20)

$0.42

$32.11

Montreal Canadiens

$77.14

$6.26(14)

$0.45

$31.97

New York Islanders

$67.25

$9.50(18)

$0.53

$31.92

Chicago Blackhawks

$72.95

7.50(16)

$0.47

$31.82

Minnesota Wild

$65.39

$9.50(20)

$0.48

$31.30

Washington Capitals

$66.37

$8.00(24)

$0.33

$30.12

Los Angeles Kings

$62.75

$8.50(20)

$0.43

$29.42

Calgary Flames

$64.86

$7.54(18)

$0.42

$29.16

Pittsburgh Penguins

$70.52

$5.00(12)

$0.41

$28.51

Detroit Red Wings

$64.46

$6.00(12)

$0.50

$27.49

Nashville Predators

$56.43

$6.75(12)

$0.56

$25.56

New Jersey Devils

$47.71

$8.50(16)

$0.53

$24.40

San Jose Sharks

$53.71

$6.25(16)

$0.39

$24.15

Phoenix Coyotes

$43.83

$9.00(16)

$0.56

$23.61

Anaheim Ducks

$42.24

$9.50(20)

$0.48

$23.58

Carolina Hurricanes

$53.03

$5.75(16)

$0.36

$23.43

St. Louis Blues

$49.14

$7.00(20)

$0.35

$23.38

Buffalo Sabres

$47.94

$7.00(20)

$0.35

$22.98

Florida Panthers

$40.85

$8.00(16)

$0.50

$21.62

Columbus Blue Jackets

$47.06

$5.50(12)

$0.46

$21.18

Colorado Avalanche

$40.62

$6.75(12)

$0.56

$20.79

Tampa Bay Lightning

$42.23

$6.00(12)

$0.50

$20.08

Ottawa Senators

$43.51

$5.55(14)

$0.40

$20.05

Dallas Stars

$37.28

$6.00(16)

$0.38

$18.43

* Beer Lover's Cost Per Period is one-third the average ticket price for a game plus the price of one beer, via the numbers reported by Team Marketing Report.

First, from TMR:

The average beer price is up to $7.34 for a 16 ounce beer. The Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders reported the most expensive “cheapest” beer at $9.50. Last season, 19 teams raised prices by more than 1 percent, and the league average increased by 5.7 percent.

Good lord THIS IS WHY WE TAILGATE AND PREGAME, NHL …

As you can see from our Beer Lover’s Cost index, Dallas Stars fans are drinking and watching puck on the cheap this season, as the only NHL team below $20 per period in ticket cost/beer cost. Last time we did this in 2012, seven NHL teams were under $20 in that category.

Surprises? Well, one understands why Phoenix needs to charge high prices for concessions, but at the same time wouldn’t cheap beer lure the masses?

One more surprise: The St. Louis Blues. Although it is hard to imagine a team playing in the heart of Budweiser country would dare charge high prices for suds.

The highest cost-per-ounce for the “cheap” beer was the New York Rangers at $0.74. The lowest? Thank you, Washington Capitals, for your $0.33 per ounce brews.

Here are the 2012 and 2010 Beer Cost indexes…

Now, please commence with telling us how flawed the TMR numbers are and how you can’t find that beer anywhere in your building …