The Edmonton Oilers are one of the most-watched teams in the NHL. The majority of this attention stems from the fact that they have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the team. Hockey fans are more likely to attend games that feature NHL superstars. Likewise, not many other teams in the NHL can match the Oilers’ current star power.

Let’s take a look at how McDavid and Draisaitl affect road attendance during the season.

Eastern Conference Canadian teams

Montreal Canadiens

First up, let’s take a look at how McDavid and Draisaitl affect attendance against Canadian teams on the road. Specifically, teams in the Eastern Conference. This is interesting to look at because the Oilers only play Eastern teams once on the road per season.

When the Oilers take on the Canadiens in Montreal, the Bell Centre is always packed; however, this is a constant theme. Games in Montreal are always sold out, meaning that they get a year-round attendance of 21,105.

Montreal is arguably one of the best places to play in the NHL, simply because of the hockey history and the sellout crowds.

Ottawa Senators

Things are a little bit different in Ottawa with the Senators. This team gets a wide variety of crowd numbers, ranging from 15,000 to over 19,000.

The crowds in Ottawa are more affected by the opponent they are playing against. The Senators do not have the same level of popularity as the Montreal Canadiens, so the Oilers had a greater impact here. When McDavid and Draisaitl were in town, 18,676 fans showed up to watch. This was the tenth most popular home game for the Senators.

The only other home games that were more popular included the home opener and games against teams like the Canadiens or Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Next up are the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are one of the most popular teams in the NHL. They are among the most historic franchises in the league, alongside the Canadiens.

When the Oilers come to town, it is a must-watch game. Watching Auston Matthews take on Connor McDavid is one of the highly anticipated games in the NHL season. The attendance record proves it. On average, the Leafs get over 18,000 fans to every game; however, only 12 games got over the 19,000 mark.

The Oilers game on November 16th was the highest attended home game for the Leafs in the 2024–25 season. It brought in 19,301 fans and did not disappoint. This was an intense game that ended with a Mitch Marner overtime winner. McDavid and Draisaitl seem to bring some good marketing to Toronto (it also helps that McDavid is from Ontario).

Western Conference Canadian teams

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames and Oilers are one of the most heated rivalries in the NHL. It has died down a bit since Matthew Tkachuk left the Flames, although it still remains an anticipated matchup.

The Calgary Flames had three sellout home games this previous season. One was the home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers, two was against the Edmonton Oilers, and three was against Vancouver Canucks on New Year’s Eve. All three of these games had sellout crowds of 19,289. McDavid and Draisaitl always seem to bring huge crowds to Calgary, as half of the crowd is usually blue and orange.

Next season begins with a bang, as the Flames and Oilers face off in the season opener in Edmonton.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks brought out at least 18,000 fans to every game last season. Unfortunately, the first game against the Oilers brought out a total of 18,714, which was the ninth lowest attendance in Vancouver.

When McDavid and Draisaitl were in town the second time, it was their fourth-highest attendance of the season with 18,965. The third and second most attended games were against the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs. These teams always bring a good crowd to other Canadian markets.

In the end, the highest attended game in Vancouver was against the Buffalo Sabres, which brought 19,064 fans out. Considering that it was against the Sabres on a Tuesday night, this is an odd game to have the highest attendance.

Winnipeg Jets

Hockey games in Winnipeg are something special. The fans there always bring a ton of energy and pack the barn on a regular basis. The Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg is one of the smallest arenas for NHL games.

On the bright side, the Jets do a great job of selling out a fair number of games. McDavid and Draisaitl helped sell out the crowd for 15,225 fans. This was one of the sixteen games sold out in Winnipeg last year.

It seems like when McDavid and Draisaitl are in town, opposing crowds tend to grow. Some hockey cities, like Montreal and Winnipeg, can sell out games regardless of who their team is playing. As for games in Oil Country, the Oilers sold out every home game during the previous season and playoff run.

Oilers in America

Hockey is not quite as popular in America. There are some cities with an NHL team that generally still do not care about hockey. It was interesting to look at how the NHL can market players like McDavid and Draisaitl in America. Overall, they made a solid difference in some cities, but not all of them.

Western Conference

McDavid and Draisaitl only brought out solid crowds in a handful of Western Conference American teams. The Los Angeles Kings were one of them, as they had a near sellout crowd on December 28. It probably helps that these two teams have met in the playoffs so many times, and Kings fans are always glad to have an opportunity to see the Oilers lose.

A surprising fact is that the San Jose Sharks sold out fifteen home games last season. One of those games was against the Oilers. This was the last game of the regular season, so that is part of the reason why the barn was so packed.

McDavid and Draisaitl played two games in Vegas this past regular season, one was down the stretch in a crucial playoff race. This one helped bring out the fourth-biggest crowd for the Golden Knights. The biggest crowd, of course, was in the home opener. Other than this, the Oilers did not have much of an effect on the crowds in America. Some teams consistently sell out crowds, which makes it tough to see any difference when McDavid and Draisaitl are in town.

Eastern Conference

The games against the Eastern Conference teams bring a little more meaning. McDavid and Draisaitl only visit these cities once a year, so they may have a significant impact on crowd numbers.

Starting in Carolina, McDavid and Draisaitl helped bring the second-highest crowd to Raleigh with 18,944. This was when Mikko Rantanen was on the team, which made it a game with plenty of star power.

Another team the Oilers visited that helped bring out a huge crowd was in Philadelphia. The Flyers beat the Oilers 6–3 in February with a season-high attendance of 19,847 fans.

A surprise was how little of an impact the Oilers had in Florida. When playing against the Panthers, there were only 19,456, which was extremely average for the Panthers. A Stanley Cup Final rematch is expected to be a sold-out crowd, although Florida is not the most passionate hockey city, meaning that most people probably were unaware that McDavid and Draisaitl were there.

Again, teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings pretty much sell out every game. Some fan bases are just more aware of what is going on and who to watch on a given night.

The biggest surprise in the Eastern Conference was when the Oilers were in Columbus, taking on the Blue Jackets. This brought the fifth-lowest crowd to Nationwide Arena. This was one of the only arenas that had low attendance for McDavid and Draisaitl. It looks like the NHL does a great job of marketing for its star players.

Up Next: A look back on the offer sheets on Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg

Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire

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