CNBC sports reporter Michael Ozanian breaks down why the New York Rangers are so much more valuable than the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.
The highest-valued NHL team reigns in Canada.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are No. 1 on CNBC's list of NHL valuations for 2024 at $3.8 billion, a lead of $300 million over the second-highest team. It also is $1.89 billion above league average.
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Second in CNBC's rankings is an American team. The New York Rangers are valued at $3.5 billion, with the Montreal Canadiens coming in third at $3.1 billion. The Maple Leafs, Rangers and Canadiens are the only three teams valued above the $3 billion threshold.
Two American teams round out the top five. The Los Angeles Kings are in fourth with a value of $2.85 billion and right behind them are the Boston Bruins, who are valued at $2.75 billion.
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One more Canadian team is involved in the top 10, with the Edmonton Oilers at No. 6 ($2.65 billion). The rest is dominated by major U.S. markets, including the Chicago Blackhawks ($2.6 billion) at No. 7, Philadelphia Flyers ($2.25 billion) at No. 8 and Washington Capitals ($2.1 billion) at No. 9. The Detroit Red Wings are No. 10 ($2.05 billion).
All 32 NHL teams are valued at $1 billion or higher. The Columbus Blue Jackets have the lowest valuation in the league at exactly $1 billion, with the Winnipeg Jets right above them at $1.1 billion.
The league average of an NHL franchise today is $1.91 billion. Only 12 of 32 franchises have a valuation above that figure, with the Vancouver Canucks ($1.95 billion) being the last.
Michael Ozanian, formerly of Forbes and now a senior sports reporter with CNBC, said the process of determining an NHL franchise's value uses the EBITDA formula. Key valuation points include potential recent team sales and/or new arena constructions, ticket gate receipts, sponsorship revenue, playoff revenue and more.
An important aspect of the Maple Leafs being the highest valued is due to their recent sale in September. Rogers Communications bought Bell Canada Enterprises' 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Maple Leafs, the NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLS' Toronto FC. The deal was valued at $9.3 billion, per Ozanian, which helped the Maple Leafs top the 2024 list.
With the Rangers in second, one might wonder why the New York Islanders are No. 16 with the New Jersey Devils at No. 11. How much does it matter to be located in a significant market?
"The reason why the New York Rangers are much more valuable than the other New York City teams is because the Rangers last year led the National Hockey League in regular season gate revenue over $170 million," Ozanian said in an exclusive interview. "Most in the NHL ... the other New York area teams are not even in the top 10."
The same explanation carries over to California, where the Kings are significantly higher than the Anaheim Ducks. But there is a slight twist to the Kings' valuation that plays a pivotal role.
"The big reason why there's such a huge gap between the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks is because the Kings owner, Bill Anschutz, also owns the building that the Kings play in," Ozanian said. "So yes, you have the Lakers playing there, you've had the Clippers playing there, but they're just tenants.
"The Kings own the building, which means they get all the money also from non-NHL events, things like concerts, other shows, if the college sports are playing there...You're talking about over $40 million in annual revenue they're pulling in from there. And because the owner of the Kings gets that money, we include that revenue...And that's why they're right up there ranked fourth in our valuation list."
Staying in California, the San Jose Sharks are the only U.S. team with negative EBITDA despite being in a promising location. Their problem comes down to a sharp decline in attendance and one of the lowest local TV revenue deals, the latter of which often provides a cushion for struggling teams.
Compared to the NFL, about two-thirds of the money in the league is shared equally between the 32 teams. That figure drops to about 20% in the NHL, so franchises have a greater individual onus to excel in all other paramount departments.
The opposite of San Jose transpires in Boston, where the Bruins ranked in the top five largely due to their fanbase. As the only NHL team in the New England market, they command one of the highest ticket prices in the league, consistently make the playoffs and control TD Garden, also home of the Boston Celtics.
Then in Philadelphia, the Flyers are $340 million above the league average but are well positioned to rise higher than No. 8 in the future. The Flyers own Wells Fargo Center, also home of the Philadelphia 76ers, but the latter hopes to have an arena of their own. The Flyers have countered and could either share the arena's operations or jointly work together to build a new arena.
On top of that prospect, the Flyers have a healthy RSN deal with Comcast compared to cord-cutting networks in different regions. Another factor is the arena's naming rights deal with Wells Fargo, which is on course to soon balloon by an appreciable amount.
"It's a very, very low naming rights deal," Ozanian started. "It's under $2 million a year that the Flyers currently get because it's a very old deal. It was explained to me that it was typed out on a typewriter. That's how old the deal is.
"And if you look at comparable naming rights deals in the NHL for teams in the market comparable to Philadelphia, you'd have to think that they're going to get at least three times as much as they've been getting, if not more. So, there is some upside in the naming rights or potentially in a new building."
