Forbes just released its annual valuation of all 30 NHL teams, which, in the middle of a lockout, is just delightful information to behold. The takeaway is that — as tends to be the case — the league’s most valuable teams are worth much, much more than the rest of the NHL. The league’s income has increased significantly year-to-year, but that reflects the financial success of just a few extremely profitable teams while almost half the league is losing money.
Of note: The Rangers are part of that extremely profitable, valuable minority. They, along with the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, accounted for 83 percent of the league’s income last season. At over $1 billion, Toronto is the league’s richest franchise by a long shot, but the Rangers’ second-place value of $750 million puts them well above the third-place Canadiens ($575 million). Forbes attributes New York’s value — up 48 percent from last year — to the multi-stage renovations going on in Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, the Devils are nineteenth at $205 million, and the travelin’ Islanders are down near the bottom at $155 million.
To add some context to the Rangers’ estimable status, the New York Rangers Blog directs us to this Sports Business Journal reader poll in which 12 percent of voters named James Dolan as the league’s least-effective owner. One wonders if Dolan’s more meddlesome, notorious grasp on the Knicks affected that opinion.
But anyway, still no hockey.