To the victor go the spoils, as they say.

The spoils in this case being a 57-percent increase in average ticket prices.

That’s what the Chicago Blackhawks did during the offseason, according to Jesse Lawrence of Forbes.com. He writes that the Blackhawks “increased 57% compared to the beginning of the season last year. It will now cost an average [of] $313 to see Toews and Co. try to get their third Stanley Cup and establish a hockey dynasty in the Windy City. “

Do the Blackhawks have the most expensive average ticket price in the NHL? Of course not! They don’t play in Canada.

Coming up, Forbes breaks down the Top 5 Most Expensive Tickets in the NHL, as well as the Top 5 Least Expensive Tickets in the NHL. To see the full list, get thee to the Forbes slideshow.

A word about the Forbes approach vs. Team Marketing Report’s Fan Cost Index …

When TMR does their average ticket price evaluations for each team, they take a “weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each stadium.” They don’t include premium seating; based on the numbers from Forbes, we’re guessing that they’ve includes high-end seats into these averages.

For example: TMR had the Leafs’ average tickets at $124.69 last season, and that’s a more realistic number for fans who can’t afford to sit in a box and receive foot massages from Dave Nonis.

That said, this is a picture of the full spectrum of tickets, if Forbes’ numbers are to be believed.

Here are the most expensive, with commentary from Forbes.com:

1) Toronto Maple Leafs - Avg Price: $368.60

“Following a surprise appearance in the playoffs however, pushing the Bruins to 7 games, tickets for this season currently check in at an average of $368.60.”

2) Chicago Blackhawks - Avg Price: $313.18

“Average prices for Blackhawks tickets this year are up 57.12%, from an already high $199.33 to $313.18—the highest average ticket price of any American team.”

3) Winnipeg Jets - Avg Price: $276.69

“Jets tickets have declined -19.33% from last year, the largest decrease in the NHL.”

4) Edmonton Oilers - Avg Price: $272.75

“As a result of heightened expectations, the average prices for Oilers tickets is up 35.69% over last year, from $201.01 to $272.75.”

5) Vancouver Canucks - Avg Price: $265.48

The average price for Canucks tickets has increased 9.17% since last year, from $243.18 to $265.48.

Here are the least expensive, with commentary from Forbes.com:

25) St. Louis Blues - Avg Price: $105.84

“Prices for St. Louis Blues tickets are up slightly with the Blues recent success, rising 8.27% from an average of $97.96 last year to $105.84 this season.”

26) Tampa Bay Lightning - Avg Price: $101.79

“Tampa Bay Lightning tickets have shown the single largest average price increase in the NHL this year, with a rise of 107.74%, from $49 dollars to $101.79.”

27) Columbus Blue Jackets - Avg Price: $95.90

“A 19.74% increase in the average price.”

28) Anaheim Ducks - Avg Price: $91.49

“The average price of Anaheim Ducks tickets are up an impressive 86.71% since last year.”

29) Colorado Avalanche - Avg Price: $86.40

“The average price of Colorado Avalanche tickets to jumped 35.69%, from $64.66 to $86.40.”

30) Phoenix Coyotes - Avg Price: $76.65

“Average ticket prices rose 16.9% from $65.57 to $76.65.”

A little surprised to see the Ducks among the cheapest for a variety of reasons. But since they’ve got those Perry and Getzlaf contracts to pay out, welp, up we go.

Again: To see the full list, get thee to the Forbes slideshow. Anything surprise you?

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Greg Wyshynski is the editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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