The Stanley Cup Playoffs did huge numbers on ESPN.
In fact, according to the Sports Leader, this was the most-watched postseason in ESPN’s history of covering the NHL, which spans 1994 through 2002 and 2021 to the present day.
The NHL Playoffs on ESPN averaged 2.2 million viewers across the 43 games it aired, which was up 127 percent from 2025 and 19 percent from 2024.
Then, despite two teams in the Stanley Cup Final from smaller markets, the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights, this year’s championship series was the most-viewed Stanley Cup Final since 2019, averaging 5.23 million viewers. Game 6, where the Hurricanes secured their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, averaged 5.9 million viewers on ABC, the most for a SCF Game 6 since 2019. The Game 6 audience finished behind only Game 7 of the Panthers-Oilers’ SCF in 2024 (7.67 million viewers) as the most-watched NHL game since 2019: the Blues-Bruins Game 7 aired on NBC (8.91 million viewers).
Per ESPN, each game in the series delivered a Stanley Cup Final multi-year high:
- Most-viewed Game 1 since 2019 (4.8 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 2 since 2015 (4.7 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 3 since 2002 (5 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 4 since 2017 (5.3 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 5 since 2018 (5.8 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 6 since 2019 (5.9 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 1 since 2019 (4.8 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 2 since 2015 (4.7 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 3 since 2002 (5 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 4 since 2017 (5.3 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 5 since 2018 (5.8 million viewers)
- Most-viewed Game 6 since 2019 (5.9 million viewers)
According to Sports Media Watch, the Carolina-Vegas Stanley Cup Final was the fifth most-watched Stanley Cup Final series dating back to 1994 when these statistics were first tracked. The 2026 SCF trailed only the the Blackhawks-Bruins series in 2013 (5.75 million viewers), the Blackhawks-Lightning in 2015 (5.55 million), the Blues-Bruins series in 2019 (5.47 million), and the Red Wings-Flyers in 1997 (5.29 million).
The big numbers in the postseason come as ESPN has had its most-watched regular season since its new NHL rights agreement began in 2021.
Other notable accomplishments for ESPN’s NHL coverage:
- The most-viewed Western Conference Final since 2015 (2.2 million viewers)
- The most-viewed First Round of the current rights deal
- The most-viewed Second Round of the current rights deal
Now with the 2025-26 season officially over, ESPN will now turn its attention to the 2026 NHL Draft, which is being held this year at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center. ESPN will air the First Round on Friday, June 26 from 7-10 pm (EST). Rounds 2-7 can be watched on Saturday beginning at 11 am (EST) on ESPN+.
