2026 NHL Sponcon Scouting Report

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a twice-weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry! 

As a reminder, starting this week, Mondays are reserved for campaign inspiration and industry news, while Thursdays are all about the deep dive.

And today’s is a big one: the third annual NHL Sponcon Scouting Report.

In Today’s Edition:

• 🏒 The NHL’s Sponsored Content Leaders

• ⛑️ My Favorite Activation From Week 1

• 🥷 80+ NHL Ideas Worth Stealing

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Best Sponsored Content From NHL Week 1

We’ve officially dropped the puck on a new NHL season, which means I’ve spent the past week digging through sponsored content from all 32 teams.

This year, I teamed up with Mondo Metrics again to add a data layer to the report.

Using MondoTrends, they analyzed 8,609 posts across five platforms from September 29 through October 6. Of those, 618 included a brand integration, representing 7.2% of all team content.

Those posts generated 1.2M engagements and at least 13.1M views across 125 brands. That view total still understates the true reach, since static graphics don’t consistently report views.

Like the NFL edition, I focused on the activations, integrations, and missed opportunities that stood out.

Here’s what caught my attention.

The Sponsored Content Leaders

The Pittsburgh Penguins led all NHL teams with 155K sponsored engagements during opening week, about 19% more than the New York Rangers at No. 2.

There was a clear top tier with the top four teams reeling in six-figure sponsored engagement.

NJM Insurance led brands with 119K engagements, followed by Polymarket at 103K and United Airlines at 95K.

The content explains why.

NJM benefited from Pens’ final score graphics, including the most-engaged sponsored post of the week. Polymarket had two high-performing Rangers milestone posts (Goalie Goal! | First Career Shutout). United’s performance came from the Chicago Blackhawks’ Countdown to Showtime series around Patrick Kane’s return.

United dominated views with 2.7M, nearly twice as many as PNC at No. 2. It also averaged 450K views per post, nearly four times CIBC.

PNC benefited from the week’s most-viewed sponsored NHL video, featuring the Dallas Stars facing former teammate Mavrik Bourque, plus the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Behind the Battle all-access content around the last-second Matthew Knies trade.

Fanatics Sportsbook ranked third, helped by Knies’ first Blue Jackets goal.

One missed opportunity: Fanatics Sportsbook was tagged in the caption of those goal highlights, but the branding wasn’t visible in the content itself.

Turn the Tradition Into the Sponsorship

My favorite activation came from Pittsburgh.

The Penguins introduced a new win prop: a welder’s helmet sponsored by U.S. Steel. The logo is built directly into the helmet, giving the brand recurring exposure every time Pittsburgh celebrates a win.

Sidney Crosby struggled with it after win No. 1, but they seemed to have it figured out by win No. 3.

Another Pittsburgh activation I liked came from Joie Baby, with players watching good-luck messages recorded by their families.

Both performed, too. The U.S. Steel Facebook video ranked seventh in sponsored views with 444K, while the Joie Baby Instagram video cracked the top 10 at 294K.

Dallas went behind the scenes, showing how Biggar Custom Hats makes its victory cowboy hat.

The Buffalo Sabres have two ideas worth watching:

• NOCO sponsors their pregame drum, neatly connecting an energy company to the team’s “bring the energy” moment.

• The viral LaBatt Beer Sabre got new life by having Fat Perez and Eric Wood chug from it at the home opener. Pairing the in-arena product with celebrity-driven moments gives Buffalo a repeatable social format.

I’d also be looking at the Nashville Predators’ Three Stars of the Game Catfish Toss as unsold inventory for a grocery, seafood, fishing, or outdoor brand.

The Name Can Do a Lot of Work

Some of the strongest integrations didn’t require inventing new content.

The name created the connection.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Winning Numbers series with JackpotCity Ontario nails it. Postgame stats roll onto the screen almost like a slot machine.

The Edmonton Oilers have their own Winning Numbers concept with Century Casinos.

A few others:

• Winnipeg Jets x PlayNow: Projected Lines

• Oilers x Play Alberta: Lines of the Game

• Boston Bruins x New England Honda: Keys to the Game

• Oilers x Coventry Homes: Keys to the Game

• Los Angeles Kings x Splitero: Kings Keys

• St. Louis Blues x Dobbs: Face-Off Week, with a tire replacing the “O”

• Bruins x Plymouth Rock Assurance: Pregame Prep

• Philadelphia Flyers x PECO: Power Play GIFs

• Detroit Red Wings x Fifth Third Bank: The Forecheck

The Ottawa Senators may have my favorite sponsored content name.

Its First Blood promotion with Andlauer Healthcare donates $1,000 to Canadian Blood Services when the Senators score first. It’s a sports phrase fans already understand, tied directly to the cause.

And the Florida Panthers’ Wake Up Call announcer cam still feels made for a coffee sponsor. I’ve written before about how I’d bring that idea to life.

Warm-Ups With a Reason for the Sponsor to Be There

Warm-up content is everywhere, but the better pairings give the sponsor a reason to be there.

• Kings have HexClad

• The Minnesota Wild use Bryant Heating & Cooling

• Jets have ABC Fire Safety

Washington calls its Vanda-sponsored version “Warmies,” a nice reminder that sponsored content doesn’t always have to sound so formal.

Arrivals Go Beyond Fashion Brands

The Anaheim Ducks have JAXXON sponsoring player arrivals, an interesting fit for a brand selling chains, bracelets, and other accessories.

Clothing brands can be tricky unless every player is outfitted by the sponsor, since competitors can easily appear in the content. Accessories avoid much of that issue while still fitting the fashion moment.

And non-fashion brands can work, too. Coca-Cola sponsors Philadelphia’s Ice Cold Arrivals.

Travel Partners Going Places

The Montreal Canadiens and Senators both work with Air Canada around the message “always checked in.”

Montreal uses it in travel coverage, while Ottawa also extended it into a fan activation asking supporters to submit photos of themselves checked in and ready for game day.

The Utah Mammoth delivered one of my favorite shots, capturing players boarding a Delta plane while another Delta aircraft flew overhead.

A few other names worth noting:

• Boston Bruins x JetBlue: Taking Flight

• Los Angeles Kings x Delta: Kings of the Sky

• Washington Capitals x United Airlines: Capitals Road Trip

• Anaheim Ducks x BYLT: Bylt to Fly

BYLT is the most interesting of those because, like arrivals, it shows travel inventory doesn’t have to belong exclusively to airlines/travel brands.

The Tampa Bay Lightning also had Visit Tampa Bay sponsor photos of Lightning fans at a road game in New York.

I’d take it further by asking where they traveled from, turning it into a recurring road-fan concept similar to what the Los Angeles Rams and American Airlines have done.

Give Fans Something Back

Some partnerships give fans a tangible reason to be customers:

• Calgary Flames fans with Scotiabank receive free popcorn.

• Vancouver Canucks fans earn a 15% statement credit on arena concessions using RBC.

• Buffalo gives KeyBank customers free popcorn and access to discounted merchandise.

The Seattle Kraken use Alaska Airlines Newcomer Night to bring new fans into the building with a buy-one, get-one-free ticket offer.

Toronto uses Maple Leafs Fan Access to let members submit questions for Ask the Leafs content.

And Pittsburgh has an interactive Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield personality quiz asking which Penguins defenseman fans are. Players took it themselves to promote the experience, while a swag-bag sweepstakes creates a lead-generation opportunity.

There’s even a subtle connection underneath it: defense is about protection, and so is insurance.

Giveaways Still Need the Right Channel

Toronto’s Proline Most Interesting Seats promotion lets fans win seats between the benches, a nice tie to the brand’s “Make Things Interesting” positioning.

But I wouldn’t rely on organic social to primarily promote it.

The same goes for MANY sweepstakes and trigger offers I saw this week. If participation requires leaving the platform, entering information, or redeeming something elsewhere, I’d lean more heavily on:

• Paid media

• Email

• Website

• Mobile app

• Push notifications

• SMS

Organic can support the promotion, but it shouldn’t automatically be the primary channel.

The same is true of Seattle’s Alaska Airlines Getaway Goals. Five Kraken goals (at home) unlock 32% off select flights, a meaningful benefit that still deserves stronger distribution than a standalone organic graphic.

Put the Offer Inside Content Fans Already Want

The Vegas Golden Knights take a better approach with Buffalo Wild Wings.

Wins trigger an offer, but the promotion is also built into the team’s game recap on its website rather than living only as a standalone promotional post.

The San Jose Sharks apply the same thinking to their SAP partnership. Final score graphics include game stats and an update on money raised through Goals for Kids.

The Sharks also use their Player of the Game vote well. San Jose Environmental Services sponsors the feature, while the voting landing page gives the partner dedicated ad space for deeper messaging.

That’s more effective than cramming everything into the social post.

Better Game Previews

Game previews are tough to drive clicks to, so teams should give fans value before asking them to leave the platform.

Chicago’s FanDuel graphic includes a relevant stat and the game’s goal total.

San Jose’s SAP-sponsored Tale of the Tide compares the Sharks and their opponent directly in-feed.

The Flyers build continuity with Toyota, previewing “RAV4 Things” before the game and revisiting those same four points afterward.

Stats Are Valuable Sponsorship Inventory

Game data creates plenty of sponsorship inventory beyond the final score.

Vegas has William Hill on its final box score and BetMGM on Stat of the Week, while the Colorado Avalanche use bet365 on intermission stats. The data gives each betting brand a logical role in the content.

The Kings and Wild use their final score posts to go deeper, layering in additional information through Twilio and TRIA Orthopedics.

In both cases, the added stats give fans more depth after the game.

Milestones Need One More Piece of Context

The Mondo Metrics data showed just how valuable milestone content can be.

Polymarket’s Rangers milestone posts put the brand near the top of the engagement rankings.

A few teams also have strong category fits:

• Oilers x Clink Beverage Co. on birthdays

• New Jersey Devils x Le Kool champagne on milestones

• Canucks x McDonald’s on milestones

I’d add one small branding element:

“Celebrated with [Brand].”

That immediately explains why the brand belongs there.

Ottawa may have the most literal fit: Milestones Bar & Grill sponsors Senators milestone content.

Edmonton also uses Legacy Heating & Cooling, with the brand name naturally tying into a player’s legacy.

And the Caps extend Leidos beyond the milestone graphic into the accompanying video.

Wegovy Is One to Watch

Both Toronto and Edmonton have Wegovy attached to highlight content.

The Maple Leafs use it for Play of the Night. Edmonton has Plays of the Week.

The connection isn’t obvious to me yet, but seeing the brand working with multiple teams would get my attention if I worked in partnership sales.

I’d be thinking about inventory that connects more naturally to what the brand actually does:

• Injecting Energy: A game-changing highlight or an activation similar to the NOCO example mentioned earlier.

• Daily Dose of [Team Name]: A recurring podcast segment, web story or short-form series covering the biggest team news or storylines of the day.

• Momentum Shift: Attach Wegovy to the play or sequence that swings a game.

• Healthy Lead: Brand any goal that puts the team ahead by at least three.

• Training Content: Sponsor morning skates or training/rookie camp where movement and performance already feel relevant.

• Progress Report: A recurring look at team or player progress, from recent performance(s) to standings movement.

Put the Partner Product to Work

San Jose used Sony to build excitement for the new season.

Its carousel identified the Alpha 9 III camera used to capture the images and included #ShotOnSony, making the product part of the storytelling.

It worked, too. The carousel ranked seventh among sponsored posts by engagement.

One tweak: extend Sony branding into at least the second card. Instagram can resurface carousels using later slides, creating another opportunity for the brand to appear in-feed.

Toronto’s Hockeyverse integration works differently, with Dairy Farmers of Ontario branding built directly into the animated environment.

Chicago’s Past and Present Faces

Chicago had two of opening week’s strongest sponsored storytelling concepts.

CIBC sponsored What the C Means to Me, revealing Connor Bedard as captain through messages from former Blackhawks captains. The title also gives CIBC a subtle role through the captain’s “C.”

The Instagram video cracked the top 10 in sponsored views.

Then there’s Patrick Kane.

United Airlines sponsored Countdown to Showtime around the former face of the franchise returning to Chicago.

Two clips ranked among the 10 most-engaged sponsored posts, while four ranked among the 10 most-viewed, including Nos. 2, 3, and 4.

Those results helped push United to No. 1 in sponsored views.

Bedard represents Chicago’s next era. Kane represents one of its most recognizable previous ones.

The Blackhawks found sponsorable content around both.

Sponsored Content in the Replies

I noticed a surprising amount of sponsored inventory in replies on X.

The Lightning post AdventHealth-sponsored score graphics after periods, then replies with Borden-sponsored intermission stats.

Three periods across 82 games can create roughly 246 pieces of inventory. That volume matters, especially if the concept also carries over to Instagram Stories.

Pittsburgh uses replies to explain Pennsylvania Lottery offers tied to sponsored power-play goal highlights.

Washington posts starting lines, then replies with scratches sponsored by ChasenBoscolo Injury Lawyers.

It’s a smart way to create secondary inventory without adding another standalone post to the feed.

Adapt In-Arena Content for Social

Calgary posts its Silver Tip Captains Race from the arena onto social.

I like the idea, but I’d cut the opening slate, get immediately into the race and edit around the most entertaining moment.

Something working in-arena doesn’t automatically mean the full recording belongs in-feed. It still needs to be edited like social content.

For more examples, I put together 40+ in-venue activations that translate well to social, plus a full execution framework, earlier this year.