The question Oilers fans keep hammering at each other online is whether Alex Formenton drove people out of Rogers Place or whether the prices did. This is a prices story, and the people who own the building and set those prices are the ones who should own the empty seats.
Start with what actually happened on Thursday, October 15. The Oilers announced a crowd of 16,176, which left 2,171 seats unsold in a building that holds 18,347 for hockey. You have to go back to October 20, 2022 to find a smaller Oilers home crowd. This team sold out all 41 home games in 2024-25. So far this season, through their first stretch of home dates, they've managed exactly two sellouts, both in the opening week. The day after the low gate, more than 840 tickets sat unsold outside the resale market for the October 20 home game against Minnesota.
Listen to the people who left. On-record comments from Edmonton broadcasters who track this closely all point the same direction. Jason Gregor flagged "ticket prices and playoff increases a factor for some season seat holders who didn't renew," and followed up that many longtime holders "felt the playoff price hikes were gouging and no sign of thanks or loyalty." Dan Tencer, who gave up his own seats, said plainly that the "regular season cost was what pushed us out," and described eating increase after increase since the first Cup Final run before hitting a wall: "The doubling out of the gate, 7x in Cup Final… it was a lot to stomach." He's a lifelong customer doing math at his kitchen table.
It isn't only the ticket. Parking near the arena is its own expense, and fans have been loud about the cost of food and beer inside the building too. League-wide, the numbers around a night out have gotten absurd. The full price of walking through the turnstiles has crept past what a normal Edmonton family will pay to watch hockey they can see on a screen for a fraction of it.
Formenton is real, and nobody should pretend otherwise. The Oilers signed the 26-year-old to a one-year, $850,000 deal in early September, and the reaction to bringing in a player acquitted last year of sexual assault was ugly: a petition against the move passed 65,000 signatures, and GM Stan Bowman admitted the signing was "a polarizing topic." A chunk of fans say they're keeping their money in their pockets specifically because of it, and I believe them.
But the timing kills the idea that Formenton is what emptied the building. The signing landed weeks before opening night, and the Oilers still packed Rogers Place for their first two home games. The number didn't crater until a few games in, which is exactly how sticker shock works: people live with new prices for a year or two, then quietly decline to renew once they add up the cost. That's cumulative, and it shows up on the calendar exactly like this.
The organization can't talk its way around this part. By outside estimate this is the most profitable team in the NHL, tied with the LA Rams for third among all sports franchises. They hiked prices on their most loyal customers, gave nothing back in loyalty, and watched those customers walk, while the loudest voices in Edmonton blame a signing instead of the invoice.
The Oilers taxed their fans until the dedicated ones couldn't afford to stay, then pocketed the profit. Fix the prices or get used to the view from an empty section.
