The New York Rangers top Forbes' 2015 list for the most valuable teams in the NHL, with an estimated value of $1.2 billion. Two Canadian franchises, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, are also valued at more than $1 billion.
Although those are impressive numbers, the research showed nine of the league's 30 teams actually lost value over the past calendar year. By contrast, Forbes' NFL estimations earlier this year showed all 32 teams increased their value by at least 19 percent.
Here's the complete NHL list from Forbes:
While the estimates showcase the success of hockey in certain areas, especially the Original Six teams, nontraditional markets like Arizona and Florida continue to lag behind. Those organizations also rank near the bottom in average attendance, per ESPN.
Add that to the fact that nearly a third of the teams are projected to have lost value this year, it raises questions about the viability of the NHL's expansion efforts. It's unclear whether there's enough widespread interest to add two more successful fanbases.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated earlier t ...
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Article written by Tim Daniels
Rangers, Canadiens, Maple Leafs Top Forbes’ List of NHL’s Most Valuable Teams
November 24th, 2015 by Tim Daniels Leave a reply »
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