No matter what you do for work, everyone’s got to eat at some point, right?
But what do you do when most of your workday consists of spending time in NHL stadiums? You can pack your meals for games in your home city, but on the road, your options change. You can buy food from a takeout place, or you can do what many media and arena staff members do: enjoy the media meals offered before game time.
As a Toronto Maple Leafs reporter, I’ve reviewed NHL media meals across all 32 cities for the last three years and developed a comprehensive look at who does it right, who needs improvement, and who is improving. As the league drops the puck on a new season, this felt like the perfect time to provide a comprehensive ranking.
Before we dive into it, let me just say that none of the 32 arenas provide a bad meal. Food is food, and we should be grateful for our jobs and access to a delicious meal when others are less fortunate and suffer from food insecurity.
With that said, let’s start from the bottom and work our way to the top.
32. Washington Capitals
The Capitals used to have a pretty decent, home-cooked style approach to their media meal. Then, a season after the COVID-19 pandemic, they moved to a voucher-for-concessions system, where a $10 USD credit gave you $30 worth of food. It actually wasn’t bad.
But after that, they moved back to a traditional media meal over the last two seasons. We had two visits to Capital One Arena where things were a bit upside down due to renovations. Instead of the media meal being in a workroom across from the visiting dressing room, it was in a makeshift room in the loading dock. Although the room looked nice, the main meal didn’t.
On the first visit, the meal offered a pretty standard salad bar and featured a steak that was a little rough and, if I can add, veiny. It was difficult to cut through. The room had a delicious soft-serve ice cream machine, which saved the experience, but that changed a month later when it was broken. By then, I was told it had been down for at least a month. It sounds like my first visit was the last time it worked between my trips.
But this time, they went with a bouillabaisse. You’d think it would be decent, but I had never had mussels at an arena before, and it was probably something I’ll never eat again unless it’s for content purposes.
31. Philadelphia Flyers
When I first started reviewing media meals a few years ago, the Flyers got the most attention for charging $18 USD for a mediocre-looking, mediocre-tasting meal. Last year, the most redeeming part of the meal was that I was on the visiting-team list (which happens sometimes, depending on the venue—it’s different everywhere). But the meal, provided by Aramark, was not amazing.
The first thing you see is an average salad bar. There is only one real entrée option with protein. On this last visit, it was stuffed shells. The shells were not cooked well, though the meat was okay. I mostly ate the broccoli and garlic bread because they tasted better, and that’s really not how it should be.
Philadelphia does do desserts well. They have a delicious soft-serve machine in the media area. In the press box, they have free hot dogs (which were better than the entrée) along with a candy array that includes Nerds Gummy Clusters. Those are the new go-to snacks, and it was nice to see the Flyers evolve.
The Flyers and 76ers are set to play in a new building in 2030, and they’ve announced that Levy will be the new hospitality provider. My experience has always been that the newer the building, the better the meal.
30. Pittsburgh Penguins
My last visit to Pittsburgh was actually pretty decent. It was another one of those venues where I got to eat for free. They were serving pulled pork with buns, mac and cheese, and vegetables. I enjoyed both protein options, and the mac and cheese was delicious. I really enjoyed the variety of barbecue sauces offered with the pulled pork. They offered a house BBQ, mustard BBQ, and a hot honey BBQ sauce.
The Penguins probably would have ranked higher on this list if not for a brunch they offered for an afternoon game on a recent visit, which tasted worse than it looked. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I’m hoping we don’t have afternoon games in Pittsburgh again. This is a shame because I prefer them to evening games. The press box situation is nothing to get too excited about: chips, standard popcorn, coffee, tea, and soft drinks.
29. St. Louis Blues
The Blues offer a pretty basic media meal. They always include hot dogs, which are just okay. On my last visit, they had chicken legs, which tasted good, but they were hard to cut with the plastic cutlery provided. I also had the stuffing; it should have been better than it was, but it came out very cold.
The best part of the Blues’ media meal is the wide-open dining area at press-box level, which saves you from unnecessary trips up and down the building.
Their coffee supplier is On-The-Run, which is a convenience store chain. It’s not terrible per se, but everything about the St. Louis meal experience is very basic. One redeeming quality is that they did provide this coffee for the morning skate. Not many buildings have coffee in the morning, and that should be highlighted. But as far as the meal goes, it could use a lot of work.
28. Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have run one of the most successful NHL franchises on the ice since their 2017 inception. Unfortunately, that success hasn’t fully translated into the media meals at T-Mobile Arena.
Part of that may not be their fault, since they don’t fully own the venue like most other NHL franchises do.
The meal, catered by Levy Restaurants, featured barbecue chicken and chicken sausage. The chicken, which was drenched in barbecue sauce, was a little dry, and everything else tasted just okay—including the tofu, which I only tried because of the garlic sesame seasoning. It was alright. The best part of the meal was the dinner roll, which says a lot.
Up in the press box, they have an amazing candy spread full of gummies, Peanut M&Ms, and Jelly Belly, which are premium snacks you don’t see anywhere else in the league. This is what most media members look forward to—at least media members like me with a sweet tooth.
Las Vegas is such a great food city, so it was a little disappointing that the arena meal hasn’t followed suit.
27. Ottawa Senators
The Senators are notorious for a media meal that many members think about skipping to eat elsewhere before work. The only issue with that is the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario, isn’t close to anything else. Some opt to get concession food, as the egg rolls are apparently really good (I haven’t tried them yet).
On our first visit this season, they served a hickory-smoked chicken breast that was quite dry. They also had a rigatoni bolognese which was quite clumpy, which may have had to do with how the rigatoni was cooked.
At one point, I had them dead last on this list, but they stepped things up on my last visit with a delicious General Tso’s chicken. The Sens also serve a small appetizer during the first intermission. The only issue is they run out before the intermission even starts. So, the strategy now is to go grab one a few minutes early (usually during the last TV timeout of the period).
The Sens also partnered with Dr Pepper last year and offered Dr Pepper Zero as a fountain drink, which gives me something to look forward to next season.
26. Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche media meal experience is one of the hardest to review. I love that it is always free, but the protein offerings are rarely good. On my last visit, the chicken parmesan was really dry, but the desserts were elite. Their toffee cookies are amazing, and so was the tiramisu.
The dining area is probably the smallest in the NHL among arenas that don’t offer a meal voucher in lieu of a catered meal. The press box offers regional snacks and cookies you don’t see anywhere else. They also have chips, coffee, tea, and sodas. This meal would rank much higher if the dining experience were better and the protein (they only offered one option) was actually good.
25. Edmonton Oilers
It seems like every time I go to Edmonton, the media meal gets progressively worse. They had a lot of food (their salad bar is crazy, with an absurdly high number of dressing options), but they charged a league-high $20 plus tax (and tip).
Last year, they brought it down to $15, which was a nice surprise, but it appears to have come at the cost of multiple main courses. They offered only one protein: smokies with pierogies. They were okay, but it’s hardly satisfying when the only protein is mixed in with what is essentially dough.
They do serve local Chapman’s ice cream in various flavors with an array of toppings. Up in the press box, they also serve pizza slices during the intermission.
Another odd note: it’s typically standard for teams to not charge for the media meal during the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers bucked that trend by charging for all of the games they hosted.
24. New Jersey Devils
Going into the season, the Devils were known for having one of the most basic media meals. But last year, they improved things significantly with Levy, their hospitality services provider at Prudential Center.
The staff kicked up a notch what used to be a basic, single-protein, low-effort meal. The baked ziti was made in a delicious vodka sauce, the meatballs were really good, and the chicken parm was one of the best I’ve had in a while.
What I really liked was that the Devils staff had seen my previous videos and were eager to show off the new collection, and they did a tremendous job. Up in the press box, they serve different finger foods, like chicken tenders. Many reporters used to skip the meal and go straight to the press box offerings, but this one was enjoyable, and I’m actually looking forward to my next visit.
23. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets charge visiting media $15 for their meal, but you get a ton of options. During our last visit, there were several different choices, including a carving station. I almost always opt for the carving stations when they are available, because you usually get a really good cut of steak, which is what I enjoyed in Columbus.
They also usually have a theme night; on our last visit, it was South Asian. The tandoori chicken was excellent. They have a nice, big, dedicated room where you can enjoy your meal and chat with your colleagues.
The press box upstairs offers a general selection of popcorn, light snacks, tea, coffee, and soft drinks. They also have one of the best soft-serve ice cream offerings in the NHL. After the meal, this is a mandatory experience.
22. Calgary Flames
The Flames usually serve a variant of Alberta beef as part of their media meal. The province is proud of one of its top food exports, and they flex that in Cowtown. It was really good. There isn’t much variety in their meals, and for drinks, you have to ask staff for what you want, and they will bring it to you.
What’s great about the Saddledome is its staff commissary, which has a lot of great food for pennies on the dollar. It’s even open on days when I’ve traveled to the venue just to cover a Maple Leafs practice. I’m not sure if this setup will continue when the Flames move to a brand-new venue next door, but I sure hope it does.
21. Florida Panthers
The best way to describe the Panthers’ media meal is inconsistent. The protein options for the $16 media meal are wide-ranging and can be really good or completely avoidable. Catered by Sanza, my last visit featured delicious pulled pork. The spaghetti with meat sauce, however, was bland.
What’s great about Florida is that they have some finger foods up in the press box. It can range from chicken tenders to empanadas. The last time I was there, they had grilled cheese with tomato soup, which I was really happy to see. They’re also the only building I’ve been to that has candied popcorn in the press box. This is always a go-to snack when I’m there.
20. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets used to have a media meal you’d want to avoid, especially at $20. However, it has improved this past year since they switched to an in-house food provider.
The grilled chicken thighs were juicy and well seasoned, and the glazed ribs were great too. They even had a really good twice-baked potato. The dessert options weren’t great, and the bread roll wasn’t soft or warm—it was kind of stale. But that didn’t bother me much, since the main thing for me is how good the protein is.
I don’t always love coming to Winnipeg because it’s always freezing, but I’m glad to know that next time I can warm up with a good meal in their building.
19. Dallas Stars
The Stars do things right from the very start. When covering a morning skate, they set up a dedicated beverage, bagel, and pastry area for the media outside the locker rooms. Now that’s how you start your workday.
On my last visit, they served a sirloin steak and a lean chicken breast as the proteins. The sirloin was a little salty and dry, but the chicken was good. Because we’re in Texas, this was the first building I visited that had Dr Pepper Zero as a beverage option (before finding out Ottawa also joined the club last year). The Stars have a wide variety of snacks and usually serve chicken tenders during intermission, which were better than the sirloin that night.
The media meal experience in Dallas is highly enjoyable, and I always look forward to coming back.
18. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes used to be a regular top-10 NHL media meal. Known for their regular serving of pulled pork, along with a wide array of dinner options, the building is currently undergoing serious renovations that have changed the experience.
The dedicated dining room is gone (for now), as the food has been moved upstairs to the press box. The dated press box wasn’t set up as a regular dining area, so you are kind of forced to sit at a table and stare at a wall while you eat. They do, however, have a beverage you won’t see at any other venue: Cheerwine. It’s a red cherry soda that tastes very similar to Dr Pepper.
The construction also meant that their regular ice cream offering was gone. We can only hope it comes back when the renovations are done.
17. Utah Mammoth
Maybe it’s new ownership flexing their muscles and wanting to show off, but I love Utah’s media meal experience—and they don’t even do a traditional catered meal.
Since there is no hockey press box yet, Mammoth uses a voucher system so you can get a free meal. Everything in the concession stands is up for grabs, from Chick-fil-A to some local burger places and those “dirty sodas” which have become all the rage. I’m not going to lie, I overindulged because options were so plentiful.
The Utah media staff provided us with a goodie bag of local gifts, and I especially enjoyed the Utah Jazz Stanley coffee container. It was brilliant for two reasons: first, knowing that hockey reporters probably wouldn’t walk around with a Mammoth container while covering another team; and second, that it was a Stanley and not a Yeti, as the latter brand was a popular choice for the club but licensing issues stood in the way.
The media meal situation is evolving quickly. While they didn’t have a dedicated snack area initially, recent arena adjustments added a space with snacks and a soda machine. You can scan a QR code for a coupon code to order concessions through a mobile ordering portal. I had Chick-fil-A the last time I was there and stocked up on a Utah-style dirty soda.
16. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have begun renovations at SAP Center and have already completed the overhaul of their media meal room. With it came a whole new variety of beverage options; it’s the only building I know of that offers a pineapple-flavored Fanta.
Their main course changes regularly, and they were serving Chinese food when I visited. One of their staples is a cold, make-your-own-sandwich platter, which I tend to avoid.
The Sharks also offer an array of popcorn, snacks, and drinks in the press box. The meal was only $10; they had a delicious soft-serve ice cream machine, and they serve decent chicken tenders up in the press box during the game.
