Leafs pull ahead of Rangers, becoming the league's highest valued franchise; here's the entire list from top to bottom
While COVID hindered the revenue and profits of all major sports leagues the past few seasons, the NHL may have taken the biggest hit given that half of their most valuable teams are in Canada. With the restrictions, Canadian teams were unable to welcome fans back to buildings at the same time as American teams, costing millions in revenue loss.
Last season the New York Rangers became the first NHL franchise to be worth $2B. The Leafs were worth $1.8B last season. Since fans have been allowed back in buildings though, the Leafs have seen their value skyrocket. From $1.8B last season, they are now worth an estimated $2.12B. It was inevitable the Leafs would become the first Canadian NHL team to be worth $2B, but I don't think anyone expected an increase of over $300M in one season post-pandemic.
The Ottawa Senators are the first Canadian team for sale since True North purchased the Winnipeg Jets in 2011. Not only are the Sens the first Canadian team for sale in over a decade, but thanks to an off-season full of moves by Pierre Dorion and the new memorandum and discussions on a new arena, have increased their value by 21% since last season. Sportico has them valued at $655M currently.
It will be interesting to see when a sale of the Senators goes through, but for now, our focus will be on how the Leafs are unable to use their record breaking profits to bully teams out of players because of a stupid salary cap.
| POLL | ||
1 NOVEMBRE | 83 ANSWERS Leafs pull ahead of Rangers, becoming the league's highest valued franchise; here's the entire list from top to bottom Will the Leafs make the playoffs in 2022-23 after a horrendous start? | ||
| Yes | 51 | 61.4 % |
| No | 32 | 38.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
