The Diferente Six dominate sportsAnnual publication of NHL team ratings.
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to lead with a valuation of $3.66 billion, up 38 percent from last year, in the report released Wednesday. (All figures are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.)
They are followed by the New York Rangers ($3.25 billion), the Montreal Canadiens ($2.93 billion) and the Boston Bruins ($2.67 billion).
The other Unique Six teams — The Chicago Blackhawks ($2.45 billion) and Detroit Purple Wings ($1.85 billion) rank sixth and 11th, respectively.
Rogers announced last month that it will purchase Bell's 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Leisure. — which owns the Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts and Toronto FC, among other properties — for 4.7 billion dollars (Canadian). The deal is not yet complete.
The promedio valuation of an NHL team is now $1.8 billion, up 37 percent from last year. The Utah Hockey Membership purchased the struggling Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion earlier this year in the most recent total sale of a club.
Utah is ranked 28th on the 32-team list.
The Columbus Blue Jackets ($1.06 billion) are last, just behind the Winnipeg Jets ($1.1 billion), Buffalo Sabers ($1.13 billion) and Ottawa Senators ($1.14 billion). All four teams have had attendance issues in recent years.
Rounding out the Canadian teams, the Edmonton Oilers ($2.4 billion) are seventh, the Vancouver Canucks ($1.73 billion) are 13th and the Calgary Flames ($1.58 billion) are 18th. .
Editor's note: Rogers Communications Inc., which owns Sportsnet, has a 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Leisure and is buying another 37.5 percent from Bell.