Calgary Flames fans mock Edmonton Oilers with cheeky McDavid chant
Preseason hasn’t even started, but Calgary Flames fans have already kick-started a new edition of the Battle of Alberta.
The Edmonton Oilers were in Calgary over the weekend to take part in the second half of a home-and-home series of rookie games. The two teams featured an entire roster of rookies on each end, with not a single NHL regular participating for either side.
With the Flames being in more of a rebuilding phase than the Stanley Cup-contending Oilers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Calgary won both games, including Sunday night’s finale by a score of 5-4.
Even with no NHLers on the ice, Flames fans still found a way to mock the Oilers using Connor McDavid’s lack of an extension as fuel.
Shortly after Calgary scored its fifth goal of the game, fans in the Saddledome started chanting “McDavid’s leaving” at the Oilers.
The preseason hasn't even started, but Flames fans are already taunting the #Oilers about McDavid's contract
A "McDavid's leaving" chant broke out in the third period of Sunday's rookie game in Calgary. pic.twitter.com/J9Us05H2DZ
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) September 15, 2025
The Oilers captain is without an extension after the season, and it’s starting to become a massive distraction. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney jokingly commented on the situation last week, and fan speculation that McDavid is planning on leaving Edmonton in free agency is starting to pick up.
It’s no wonder that Flames fans are delighted at where things are with McDavid’s contract, as it means they can celebrate over the anxiety of their rivals.
For the Oilers, the fact that the noise is so loud before even training camp opens has got to be a concern. If McDavid enters the regular season unsigned, the media frenzy it would cause would be unprecedented.
This doesn’t appear to be bothering the Oilers superstar right now. McDavid seemed calm about the situation earlier this month and spent this past weekend going on stage with country music star Morgan Wallen during a show in the Alberta capital.
It’s safe to say that opposing fans will only get more vocal the longer this saga draws out for McDavid and the Oilers.