The Oilers are a beloved team and an important part of the NHL, but their ranking as the 15th best-supported team in the league shows that there is room for improvement. That’s even with a recent Western Conference win and a total of five Stanley Cups. They sit comfortably fourth in the list of most popular Canadian sides, too.
Having not claimed a post-season finals win in more than 30 years, it seems unlikely that any floating or undecided hockey nuts are going to choose the Oilers as their team. It means that most of the loyal support comes from those who live in the Edmonton area, with no real franchise growth on the horizon.
That makes it clear that there’s a rich hockey market ready to tap into – one that has grown in recent years financially, in particular, and build a new legacy to rival the dynasty of the 80s. One way is obviously sustained success. Another? Branding and licensing.
Licensed Media: A Profitable Market for the Oilers to Look Towards
Success is something difficult to build. It takes years of strategic planning, forward thinking, and more than your fair share of luck on the ice. For licensing and branding, though, it is something that a good director can start right away. Results may take some time to show, but it’s much quicker than attracting glory hunters.
One area that other teams and sports have looked to is online gaming. In particular, online casinos. The Toronto Maple Leafs, the second-most supported team in Canadian hockey, have their own online slot game. This is a clear way to capture fans of that sort of gaming. And it’s not just the Maple Leafs who have looked to online casinos for branding deals.
A number of other sports have used slot gaming to help drum up interest. For example, darts is a sport that has been seen as a bar sport for years. Looking at Karamba online casino, though, Canadian players can try their hand at a World Darts Championship-themed slot. Considering the growth of that sport in the 2020s, this could be an avenue for the Oilers to take advantage of.
NHL Video Games and Licensed Media Have Proven Success
It’s not just online slot games that sports, leagues, and franchises have looked to for help with marketing either. EA Sports’ NHL series of games is now in its 34th installment, with the Oilers included on the roster under the league’s licensing agreement with the game developer. Reaching that number of instalments shows that there’s a strong desire for licensed gaming in hockey.
The franchise’s latest releases may have created a market opportunity that resourceful Oilers fans and new developers could potentially capitalize on. A review from IGN described the latest release of NHL 25 as a disappointment for critics. They claim that the series has become stale and has left players looking for something more from their hockey games.
If the Oilers were to find their own niche in gaming, with the caveat that any deal would have to be negotiated alongside the NHL and EA, they could draw away those uninspired fans. If players are asking for a more unique, modern take on hockey action in video games, the Oilers could capitalize and establish themselves as the franchise for a young and tech-savvy audience.
A League in Rude Health Offers Opportunities to its Members
The NHL is currently booming, and although the idea of a franchise building its own media legacy is still only hypothetical, it’s clear that now is the time. Their revenue in 2024 increased by around 23% compared to the previous year, indicating a growing financial interest in the league as a whole. The Oilers ranked third in terms of valuation among Canadian teams.
There is an opportunity on offer for Edmonton. Outside of North America, the soccer leagues in Europe are a good example of how revenue creates opportunities for innovation in the licensing space, and the Oilers would do well to hop on the bandwagon while it’s moving at a rapid financial pace.
