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Forbes yearly valuations of teams are out, and the Pittsburgh Penguins check in at $570 million, good for 10th among NHL franchises and up $10 million from last year's report. The New York Rangers at $1.25 billion were at the top of the list.
Some numbers, if you're into them:
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From their profile:
Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle couldn't find anyone to pay $750 million to buy their team, but they obtained something priceless: their second Stanley Cup (first was 2009) since buying the Penguins in 1999. The Penguins have been to the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons and have become one of the elite franchises in the NHL. Last season the Penguins averaged a 5.87 rating of Root Sports, second-highest among regional sports networks in the league. In October, paint supplier PPG replaced Consol Energy for the arena's naming rights in a 20-year deal.
One thing that stood out to me was revenue. Team President David Morehouse said Monday night at 50 Years of Hockey in Pittsburgh event, "we would not have a hockey team here if we had stayed in the old building." Data like this illustrates just how true this statement is- the team's revenue was in the $91-93 million range in 2008 and 2009.
In 2016, the Penguins spent $81 million on player salaries alone, according to Forbes (higher than the salary cap due to long term injury exemptions, other young player bonuses and the fact that some like Sidney Crosby have a higher salary than cap hit at this time). Due in large part to the new arena - and surely a long playoff run helped- the Penguins had $178 in revenue in 2016. Financially the team wouldn't remain solvent at 2008-09 levels of revenue.
While some will argue the exacts of the Forbes figures, it is an interesting peak at the league at-large. According to this snapshot, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be in excellent financial shape and enjoyed and enjoyed the team's best ever year of operating income ($25.7 million). Add in that Stanley Cup and 2016 all-around probably has to go down as the best year in franchise history.