With the upcoming holiday season and extra NHL Winter Classic expenses, Florida Panthers games are far from sold out.

It’s challenging to maintain full arena capacity for 41 home games while competing with other major leagues.

During the MLS final between Inter Miami and the Vancouver Whitecaps in Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 6, the Panthers were hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a dramatic game full of mistakes, comebacks, and even the ‘6-7’ meme jokes. The final score was 7-6, with Sam Bennett netting the game-winning goal in overtime. There was only one problem – many empty seats on Saturday night. Visually, it looked like only half of Amerant Bank Arena were filled. Locals either preferred pre-Christmas shopping or focused on Lionel Messi’s latest achievement, one of the best soccer players in the sport’s history. Inter Miami won its first MLS championship, bringing another major trophy to the Sunshine State.

Bittersweet Saturday made some wonder: why did the back-to-back champions have low attendance in their home matchup? It wasn’t the first time. While the struggling Nashville Predators (14th in the Western Conference) may not be the most star-studded team in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to attract more spectators to Sunrise, FL. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander are some of the best and high-valued players in the league. Yet, tickets to see a battle between the Panthers and Leafs were offered for just $27. The Cyber Monday Flash sale didn’t bring in the crowd.

Yes, the Panthers are doing as much as they can with the problems and injuries they’ve accumulated. After 30 games, they were stuck in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and sixth in the Atlantic Division. The gap between the Cats and the first-place Carolina Hurricanes was only eight points. A solid 4-0 win in Dallas moved the team up to 12th place in the conference and fifth in the division.

The Panthers will conclude their four-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, Dec. 15. After that, they will host the LA Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, and St. Louis Blues. Believe it or not, the tickets for those home contests were offered a week ago at $27 as part of the Cyber Monday deal. The franchise is trying to be budget-friendly with its fans. It’s not easy to make it work. Our previous article focused on potential expenses for the 2026 NHL Winter Classic.

Let’s hope fans will be in extra-supportive mode at the end of December when the Lightning, Capitals, and Canadiens visit South Florida.