Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid’s success on the ice has created a strong market for his trading cards.
On eBay, some McDavid cards are listed in the mid-six-figures. The most expensive card with an authenticity guarantee, a 2015 Upper Deck “The Cup” Rookie Patch Card, is asking for $465,000. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a sports and trading card grading company, graded it a 10, which is “a virtually perfect card”
For context, the most expensive NHL card ever sold is a 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card, which went for $3.75 million in May 2021 in a private transaction by Heritage Auctions. “The Great One” played nine NHL seasons in Edmonton, winning four Stanley Cups and eight of his nine Hart Trophies as league MVP.
“Last November, we offered on-site grading outside of the U.S. for the first time at the Toronto Sport Card Expo, and it was incredibly eye-opening to see how in-demand not only high-end hockey cards were with that crowd, but specifically how in-demand McDavid cards were,” Ryan Hoge, PSA president, said in an email. “Having a generational star at that level at the top of a sports category, for us, is a great thing for the health of the overall hockey card market.”
McDavid cards are the third most graded by PSA among hockey players during the 2023-24 NHL season behind Gretzky and Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard.
“He’s definitely the best player on the planet currently and living up to the hype,” said Paul Zickler, director of sports trading card brands for Upper Deck. “He’s continued to elevate each year, and I think his collectibles have followed a similar path … reaching the Stanley Cup Final will continue to drive up his secondary market trading card values. We expect his trading card values to reach a whole new level if he and the Oilers can lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.”
Upper Deck has had a trading card license agreement with the NHL since the 1990-91 season, one of the longest active card partnerships among the major U.S. sports leagues. The NHL, NHL Players Association and Upper Deck announced a continued partnership in January 2019. When asked by Sportico, Upper Deck declined to disclose the length of the extension.
Upper Deck has a program called Game Dated Moments where it prints cards on-demand following big moments. Should Edmonton win the Stanley Cup, Zickler says Upper Deck has plans to highlight McDavid.
“If Edmonton wins and [McDavid] wins, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see sort of a Stanley Cup box set and some unique memorabilia items right around the corner,” Zickler said. “Like any ‘greatest player of all time,’ doesn’t matter if it’s hockey or other sports, it would definitely be a big boost to his collectability and secondary values if you can add that Stanley Cup ring to his accolades.”
McDavid, whose Oilers play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night against the Florida Panthers, has $85.6 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac, and he is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season. He has seven 100-plus point seasons, and this year he became one of four players in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season.
