The sight of empty seats in Edmonton has started another round of chatter about Connor McDavid, and Jay Rosehill was the one to light the fuse.
On Wednesday, the Leafs Morning Take co-host posted on X after hearing from a friend who was at the Oilers game the night before. Rosehill wrote: “My buddy was at the Oilers game last night.
He said the lower bowl was only 3/4 full. In that city, new building with no idea how long you have left to watch McDavid?
Crazy to see. People must be feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks these days.”
The comment landed because it tied attendance to a bigger, familiar question: are Oilers fans taking for granted how much time they still have left to watch McDavid live?
It’s not as if the Oilers are giving people reason to stay away on the ice. Edmonton is 7-1-1, and McDavid already has 26 points in nine games.
Even with that kind of production, though, the building has not been packed for a couple of home games in a row. Whether that comes down to game costs, frustration with some recent Oilers decisions, or something else, it stands out when the league’s best player is putting up historic numbers.
Rosehill’s remarks also come with the obvious Toronto backdrop. Plenty of people will read them as a pro-Leafs take, and some will hear a subtle nod to the long-running idea that McDavid could one day end up in Toronto. He didn’t say that outright, but that storyline is never far away when Toronto media starts talking about a player who grew up favoring the Leafs.
The contract situation, at least for now, is pretty clear. McDavid is signed through 2028 after agreeing to a two-year, $25 million extension last October.
He passed on a raise in the short term while chasing his first Stanley Cup, and there are still two seasons after this one before he can reach free agency. He’ll be 31 when that deal expires.
That’s enough for outsiders to keep poking at Oilers fans, especially when the lower bowl isn’t filling up. Still, there’s no sign McDavid wants out, and attendance alone isn’t going to drive him anywhere. If anything, the same pressure is showing up around the NHL, where rising costs, lower tourism and network deals that haven’t been fan-friendly have all put a squeeze on crowds.
So yes, Edmonton’s window with McDavid isn’t endless. That’s true in every market with a superstar. But turning a few empty seats into a warning sign that fans should hurry to the rink because they’re running out of time with him is a pretty big leap.
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