New York, NY – Forbes released today the 19th annual valuation of the National Hockey League’s 31 teams. The New York Rangers, worth $1.5 billion, top the list for the third consecutive year. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who had previously been the most valuable NHL team (from 2005-2014), take the No. 2 spot, with a value of $1.4 billion. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Leafs and NBA’s Raptors, signed a 20-year, $640 million arena naming rights deal with Scotiabank beginning next season. The Montreal Canadiens, valued at $1.25 billion, take the No. 3 spot.
The average NHL team is now worth $594 million, which is a 15% increase from 2016. The big market NHL teams have gotten a boost to their values from the ever-increasing premium being paid for teams in all the major sports. The $500 million expansion fee paid by the Las Vegas Golden Knights has helped increase the values of the smaller market teams in the league.
The seven Canadian teams all went up in the rankings, reflective of a stronger Canadian dollar. For the 2016-17 season one U.S. dollar equaled U.S. 80 cents, 6.7% more than the previous season (Canadian teams pay their players in U.S. dollars).
Methodology: Revenues and operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) are for the 2016-17 season and net of revenue sharing and arena debt service. Forbes does not include the expansion fee from the Knights that was divvied out to the other 30 teams in the league. Forbes uses revenue multiples to calculate team values (equity plus net debt) based on the economics of each team’s current arena deal. If a team has new arena, media deal or sponsorship agreement that is definite, Forbes estimates its impact on the enterprise value.
The List
Spreadsheet Reprints
Rank Team Current Value 1-Yr Value Change Debt/Value Revenue Operating Income
#1 New York Rangers $1.5 B 20% 4% $246 M $94 M
#2 Toronto Maple Leafs $1.4 B 27% 8% $211 M $76 M
#3 Montreal Canadiens $1.25 B 12% 18% $236 M $92 M
#4 Chicago Blackhawks $1 B 8% 0% $183 M $48 M
#5 Boston Bruins $890 M 11% 0% $176 M $33 M
#6 Los Angeles Kings $750 M 25% 7% $175 M $32 M
#7 Philadelphia Flyers $740 M 3% 0% $170 M $26 M
#8 Vancouver Canucks $730 M 4% 11% $156 M $22 M
#9 Detroit Red Wings $700 M 12% 0% $141 M $5.4 M
#10 Pittsburgh Penguins $650 M 14% 18% $196 M $41 M
#11 Washington Capitals $625 M 9% 20% $146 M $16 M
#12 Edmonton Oilers $520 M 17% 19% $151 M $24 M
#13 Dallas Stars $515 M 3% 27% $140 M $21 M
#14 Vegas Golden Knights $500 M – 42% – –
#15 San Jose Sharks $490 M 4% 10% $137 M $8.6 M
#16 Anaheim Ducks $460 M 11% 13% $136 M $-2.6 M
#17 St Louis Blues $450 M 45% 16% $150 M $9.2 M
#18 Minnesota Wild $440 M 10% 26% $139 M $4.8 M
#19 Calgary Flames $430 M 5% 7% $129 M $5.4 M
#20 Ottawa Senators $420 M 18% 29% $135 M $10 M
#21 New Jersey Devils $400 M 25% 40% $137 M $12 M
#22 New York Islanders $395 M 3% 51% $110 M $-8.6 M
#23 Tampa Bay Lightning $390 M 28% 0% $124 M $-1.8 M
#24 Colorado Avalanche $385 M 7% 0% $113 M $-400 K
#25 Nashville Predators $380 M 41% 22% $141 M $14 M
#26 Winnipeg Jets $375 M 10% 35% $119 M $10 M
#27 Carolina Hurricanes $370 M 61% 70% $108 M $3 M
#28 Buffalo Sabres $350 M 17% 23% $120 M $-13 M
#29 Columbus Blue Jackets $315 M 29% 24% $106 M $-5.3 M
#30 Florida Panthers $305 M 30% 38% $100 M $-11 M
