The Ottawa Senators Stanley Cup odds will fluctuate throughout the season as the franchise seeks its first playoff bid since the 2016-17 season.
But Sens fans can feel good about at least one aspect of attending games at Canadian Tire Centre in the Canadian capital, regardless of game results, at least according to OntarioBets.com research.
With the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, OntarioBets.com was curious about which NHL arenas provide the safest overall experience for fans to enjoy a game. We tabulated the results and determined the top 10, with an explanation below.
Rank | Team | Total Score |
1 | Ottawa Senators | 14.5 |
2 | Calgary Flames | 26.4 |
3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 38.4 |
4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 38.6 |
5 | New York Islanders | 39.3 |
6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 42.9 |
7 | Washington Capitals | 43.6 |
8 | Vancouver Canucks | 47.1 |
9 | Edmonton Oilers | 50.6 |
10 | Montreal Canadiens | 51.7 |
OntarioBets, your home for Ontario sports betting coverage, used crime data from Statistics Canada, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Data Explorer, and a fanbase ranking based on aggression from Reddit.com’s subreddit r/NHL to create a scoring system, then we ranked the 10 safest and least safe NHL arenas. For crime, we factored in population size to more accurately account for crime rates. The lower the score, the safer the arena.
Ottawa is atop our list of safest NHL arenas, according to our metrics. BetOntario.com also provides an Ottawa Senators betting guide so you can feel confident in safely placing wagers with a legal, regulated sportsbook operator.
The score of 14.5 that the Senators’ home arena earned finished ahead of Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, where the home of the Flames got a 26.4-point rating to place second in the 32-team NHL.
This is a trend on our list, as six of Canada’s seven NHL teams are rated among the league’s 10 safest arenas (sorry, Winnipeg). But why is Ottawa No. 1?
Let’s dive into that question – and don’t forget to use OntarioBets as the place to get Ontario sportsbook apps reviews.
On Reddit, the Senators were ranked having as the friendliest and least aggressive fans, a category where we put some weight in compiling our rankings.
A low crime rate, comparatively speaking, also was a boost for Ottawa. The city was sixth among NHL cities with the lowest violent crime rate and third-best in overall crime index, compiled from Statistics Canada and the FBI index.
As for matters on the ice, track Stanley Cup odds all season with us at OntarioBets.com.
USA Today photo by Marc DesRosiers
Author
Jim Tomlin is an editor and writer specializing in sports, gambling and the intersection of those industries. He has 30+ years of journalism experience and his work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
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