Forbes says New York Rangers most valued NHL team for 8 straight years
The New York Rangers are once again ranked as the most valued team according to the latest report from Forbes.
For the eighth consecutive year, the New York Rangers are the NHL’s most valuable team, worth $2.2 billion, 10% more than last year. The Blueshirts have been in four Eastern Conference finals since 2012 but have only won one Stanley Cup in the last 82 years (1994). Yet the Rangers tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the most revenue ($249 million) last season and were the only team to rake in over $100 million in non-premium ticket revenue.
Forbes
Here’s at look at the top five teams:
- New York Rangers $2.2 billion
- Toronto Maple Leafs $2 billion
- Montreal Canadiens $1.85 billion
- Chicago Blackhawks $1.5 billion
- Boston Bruins $1.4 billion
Forbes list of full values here.
New York Rangers top value team
This report comes off the heels of Sportico’s estimated value in November that placed the Rangers second at $2 billion.
According to Sportico, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped their list of most valued NHL teams. Here’s how they ranked and estimated their top five:
- Toronto Maple Leafs $2.12 billion
- New York Rangers $2.01 billion
- Montreal Canadiens $1.7 billion
- Chicago Blackhawks $1.44 billion
- Boston Bruins $1.41 billion
Sportico based their values on a very comprehensive methodology that includes public information and interviews with multiple team owners, financial officers, team executives, and industry experts.
Forbes based their methodology on “enterprise values (equity plus net debt) and include the economics of each team’s current arena deal but not the value of the real estate itself.”
New York Rangers not for sale
James Dolan is not going to be selling the New York Rangers or New York Knicks.
This has been speculated for years and bubbled back up in August when Jonathan Boyar of Boyar Value Group appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime.
“We think it’s likely that after [MSG Sphere] is done, James Dolan, who controls the company, will sell the teams,” Boyar said while discussing Madison Square Garden Sports stock. “What’s interesting is that private equity has gotten involved in a big way. It wouldn’t surprise us to put a marker on one or both of the teams if private equity takes a stake.”
We were contacted by Natalie Ravitz, who is SVP Comms and Marketing at Madison Square Garden later that day after noting those comments. ”We have no plans to sell either of the teams,” she stated.
Early this season, Barron’s published an article discussing Madison Square Gardens Sports doing a “one-time cash dividend of about $175 million, or $7 per share, and repurchase $75 million of stock in its first return of capital to shareholders since it became an independent public company in April 2020.”
It was in that story where James Dolan himself confirmed that neither the Rangers or Knicks were being sold.
Dolan said that estimated team values are based on so-called private-market values, which would occur in a potential sale. The gap between MSG’s market value and private-market value reflects investor expectations that the teams won’t be sold. “They’re right. We’re not,” he said.
Barron’s (Subscription Required)
Back in 1994, Paramount Communication was acquired by Viacom, who in turn sold MSG properties to Cablevision and ITT Corporation. Cablevision became sole owner after buying out ITT. In 1999, James Dolan was given a larger role managing the teams sports operations which included the Knicks and Rangers.*
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