Now that we’re over a month into the season of my favourite sport, I thought I’d combine the two things I love the most, music and hockey. You’ll probably disagree with me, but here is my ranking of the 29 NHL goal songs for the 2023/24 season.
29. Los Angeles Kings – Power Ride by Fred Coury
The “Hey” screaming might make for a good environment while you’re there but wow does it start to get annoying. This track just sounds like noise overall, and the fans should be able to make that without the song as a backtrack anyway.
28. St. Louis Blues – Let’s Go Blues by The Urge
Is it just me or is there rhythmically something wrong with this one? Why are the words so much slower than the beat? Why is there so much time in between each word? That would annoy me too much to get me excited about my team.
27. Edmonton Oilers – Fluxland by XL
Boring. Enough said.
26. Anaheim Ducks – Bro Hymn by Pennywise
This entire celebration song is clouded by the Ducks having what is potentially the worst-sounding goal horn ever to be sounded. And the “woah”s are fun, but why does it sound so bad after that? Also, along with Edmonton, it’s just boring, sounds like it could be played anywhere.
25. Vancouver Canucks – Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
Honestly, this song would have made sense before, considering the position they’ve been in for the past few years. But now, when they’re statistically the best Canadian team, it’s just not amazing. Too slow and not very hyped up. No wonder it took the core of the team like four years to get in their groove.
24. Colorado Avalanche – Chase the Sun by Planet Funk
On the worse side of the “hey hey hey’s.” It barely even sounds like a song, maybe just a variation of one of those buttons they press up in the audio rooms to get the crowd going “Aaaaay Ooooooh, aaaaay ooooooh.”
23. Philadelphia Flyers – Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love by Van Halen
This is the most neutral of the “Hey, hey, hey” songs for me. Nothing’s happening here.
22. Florida Panthers – Move Your Body by Ownboss ft. Sevek
I don’t know how to put my finger on it but there’s something wrong with this one. It’s got energy, sure, but I don’t know if that bass is something I want to hear every time my team scores. It’s just annoying and not in a fun “let’s laugh at the other team” way.
21. Toronto Maple Leafs – Dup Dup by Mickie Krause
This was the biggest letdown of the year. The Leafs hyped up this new surprise goal song so much just for it to be worse than their previous one. It sounds more like a song that should be played before a faceoff rather than following the game-winning goal. It also gets so quiet after the cheering is over that the first time it played, if I’m remembering correctly, the broadcasters couldn’t even tell what it was. Should’ve stuck with Hall and Oates.
20. Vegas Golden Knights – Vegas Lights by Panic! At the Disco
This one absolutely should have gotten me on the nostalgia factor alone but it’s so poorly timed with the goal horn. Why have the horn play directly over the yell of “Vegas Lights!” so loudly you can’t hear it? There’s just too much going on for the rest of it too. You can’t have chants overlapping songs with lyrics. It just doesn’t work. It’s okay when the song is playing by itself but by then the moment’s gone. Lots of missed potential here.
19. Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens Goal Song by Antoin Beck
This is what the Kings want their goal song to be. A little unoriginal being that it’s literally called “Canadiens Goal Song” but it gets to the point.
18. Ottawa Senators – Song 2 by Blur
I guarantee this has been played during a game at every NHL arena, so if the goal was to make them feel at home I guess it works? It’s just a little common for my liking.
17. Boston Bruins – Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation
This song reminds me of the time I was eight years old and the Bruins made me cry. Also, I’ve heard it everywhere. Next!
16. Columbus Blue Jackets – For Those About to Rock by AC/DC
I don’t know. I love a good AC/DC hype song and this one just doesn’t feel like a win to me. There were better options.
15. San Jose Sharks – Get Ready by 2 Unlimited
This is a classic hype song and it’s fun but it’s basic and teams everywhere are probably playing this one throughout the game anyway. Points docked for being unoriginal.
14. Tampa Bay Lightning – Goons by Mona
My issue with this one is purely based on the fact that it comes in too late after the horn. Otherwise, I like it.
13. Nashville Predators – I Like It, I Love It by Tim McGraw
I hate country music and that’s never going to change, but I guess it goes with the vibe over there so I’ll appreciate it for that. I also aspire to be as confident as Nashville fans who yell, “You suck,” at professional athletes.
12. Dallas Stars – Puck Off by Pantera
This song doesn’t do generic guitar as well as some others but it’s good enough, and I like the built-in chant. It does make it feel less like a goal song and more like a Dallas tradition though. I think the chant, the best part, would go with or without the song. (I also think Dallas could get a better chant. Why are you cheering “Dallas! Stars!” after the goal and not “Dallas! Scores!” It was right there!)
11. New Jersey Devils – Howl by Gaslight Anthem
This song gets a little basic without the chant that goes along with it, but at least it’s better than the ones that are just purely annoying. Once again, I would love to have the confidence to yell, “You suck,” at the other team, but as a longtime Leafs fan, I feel like I have to bite my tongue on that one.
10. Carolina Hurricanes – Raise Up by Petey Pablo
I would love to have heard this so many times that I could sing it over and over and get hyped, I think it would be fun. The name-dropping of the city in a way other than “Let’s Go (insert city name here)!” is also nice. Fits well with the vibes I get from the team too (specifically thinking of the year they tried to be as annoying as possible after Don Cherry called them just a “bunch of jerks.”)
9. Minnesota Wild – Shout by the Isley Brothers
It’s fun, it’s upbeat, it feels like a goal song. My only issue with it is that once again the lyrics start during the horn. Maybe that’s just a strange pet peeve of mine but the overlap doesn’t sound nice. They did it better than Vegas though and it sounds better as the song goes on.
8. Detroit Red Wings – Without Me by Eminem
Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya. The audacity. I think if this was my team this song would totally grow on me and become my favourite thing to hear. Since it’s not, this would probably make me not want the Red Wings to ever score again if they were having a good night.
7. Calgary Flames – TNT by AC/DC
I like this one, it works for getting everybody hyped up. A little basic, but it’s on theme for Calgary too.
6. New York Rangers – Slap Shot by Ray Castoldi
I’m surprised I liked this one, but I did. It felt like it matched the team’s appearance and attitude. It’s definitely still generic-sounding, but it does it well. Wouldn’t mind hearing this all the time.
5. Arizona Coyotes – Howling for You by the Black Keys
This is one of the better actual songs on this list, but I think others top it as a goal song. It starts on the right track, but it just gets a little bland after a while.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins – Party Hard by Andrew W.K.
Now we’re talking and having a fun time! This is a “get out of your seat and jump up and down at every goal” type of song.
3. New York Islanders – Crowd Chant by Joe Satriani
It’s good! My only dislike is that the guitar part is so short! Just one more round would make the celebration longer and, in my opinion, more likely to carry on in the stands after the song’s been stopped.
2. Seattle Kraken – Lithium by Nirvana
It’s Nirvana and it pairs with the, “Let’s Go Kraken,” chant really well, so I like it!
1. Chicago Blackhawks – Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis
I hate the Blackhawks, but this is a song that sounds like winning. It’s recognizable, upbeat and doesn’t start out too lyric-heavy, so it works well! It’s both the perfect upbeat hype song and a song I’d want to hear over and over again. Top NHL goal song for sure and it’s not even close.
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