List of NHL franchise owners

Last updated

N. Murray Edwards has been the principal owner of the Calgary Flames since 1980. He is the third longest tenured owner in the National Hockey League. N. Murray Edwards.jpg
N. Murray Edwards has been the principal owner of the Calgary Flames since 1980. He is the third longest tenured owner in the National Hockey League.

The following is a list of current National Hockey League franchise owners.

Contents

All of the NHL's teams use some form of holding company for the team's assets, sometimes through multiple layers of corporations, which are all listed in the "Operating Entities" column. The "Principal Owner(s)" column lists the majority or plurality owner(s) of the team or, in the case of teams held by publicly held corporations, the corporation's chairman.

Each team has a representative on the NHL Board of Governors, the league's ruling and governing body, listed in the "NHL Governor" column; for most teams, this is the majority or plurality owner of the club.

FranchisePrincipal owner(s)NHL Governor [1] Operating entitiesPurchase price (US$ millions)Adjusted priceYear purchased
Anaheim Ducks Henry Samueli Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club LLC70$109 million 2005 [2]
Boston Bruins Jeremy Jacobs Boston Professional Hockey Association, Inc10$56.6 million 1975 [3]
Buffalo Sabres Terry and Kim Pegula Terry Pegula† Pegula Sports and Entertainment; Hockey Western New York, LLC165$223 million 2011 [4]
Calgary Flames N. Murray Edwards Calgary Sports and Entertainment 16$59.2 million 1980 [5]
Carolina Hurricanes Tom Dundon Gale Force Sports And Entertainment, LLC; Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club420$510 million 2018 [6]
Chicago Blackhawks Danny Wirtz Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team, Inc.1$11.3 million 1954 [7]
Colorado Avalanche Ann Walton Kroenke Josh Kroenke Kroenke Sports & Entertainment; Colorado Avalanche, LLC202$357 million 2000 [8]
Columbus Blue Jackets John P. McConnell Colhoc Limited Partnership; The Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Club80 & 173$152 million & $230 million1997 & 2012 [9]
Dallas Stars Tom Gaglardi Dallas Stars LP240$325 million 2011 [10]
Detroit Red Wings Marian Illitch Christopher Ilitch Ilitch Holdings Inc.; Olympia Entertainment; Detroit Red Wings, Inc.8.5$26.8 million 1982 [11]
Edmonton Oilers Daryl Katz Rexall Sports Corporation; Oilers Entertainment Group 170$241 million 2008 [12] [13]
Florida Panthers Vincent Viola Sunrise Sports and Entertainment; Florida Panthers Hockey Club, Ltd.160$209 million 2013 [14] [15]
Los Angeles Kings Philip Anschutz and Edward P. Roski Philip Anschutz† Anschutz Entertainment Group, The Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club LP113.3$227 million 1995 [16]
Minnesota Wild Craig Leipold Minnesota Sports and Entertainment; Minnesota Wild Hockey Club, LP225$318 million 2008 [17] [18] [19]
Montreal Canadiens Molson Family Geoff MolsonClub de hockey Canadien, Inc.575$817 million 2009 [20] [21] [22]
Nashville Predators Herb Fritch Predators Holdings LLC 174$256 million 2007 [23]
New Jersey Devils David Blitzer and Josh Harris Tad Brown Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment 320$419 million 2013 [24]
New York Islanders Jon Ledecky and Scott D. Malkin Scott D. Malkin†New York Islanders Hockey Club, LP485$616 million 2016 [25] [26]
New York Rangers James L. Dolan The Madison Square Garden Company, New York Rangers Hockey Club195$370 million 1997 [27]
Ottawa Senators Michael Andlauer Senators Sports & Entertainment; Ottawa Senators Hockey Club Limited Partnership950$950 million 2023 [28]
Philadelphia Flyers Brian L. Roberts Dan Hilferty Comcast Spectacor; Philadelphia Flyers, LP150$291 million 1996 [29]
Pittsburgh Penguins Ronald Burkle and Mario Lemieux David Morehouse 2 Fenway Sports Group; Lemieux Group LP107$196 million 1999 [30]
San Jose Sharks Hasso Plattner Sharks Sports and Entertainment; San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises; San Jose Sharks, LLC147$249 million 2002 [31]
Seattle Kraken David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tod Leiweke David Bonderman†Seattle Hockey Partners650$789 million2018 [32]
St. Louis Blues Tom Stillman SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC; St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, L.P.180$239 million 2012 [33]
Tampa Bay Lightning Jeffrey Vinik Lightning Hockey LP93$130 million 2010 [34]
Toronto Maple Leafs Larry Tanenbaum Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Ltd.; Kilmer Sports, Inc.263 & 1,000$511 million & $1.33 billion 1996 & 2012 [35]
Utah NHL team Ryan Smith Smith Entertainment Group1,200$1.2 billion 2024 [36]
Vancouver Canucks Francesco Aquilini Canucks Sports & Entertainment 207$323 million 2005 [37]
Vegas Golden Knights Bill Foley Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, Hockey Vision Las Vegas500$635 million 2016 [38]
Washington Capitals Ted Leonsis Monumental Sports & Entertainment 85$155 million 1999 [39]
Winnipeg Jets Mark Chipman and David Thomson Mark Chipman† True North Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. 170$230 million 2011 [40]
Observer Status
Arizona Coyotes (Suspended) Alex Meruelo IceArizona Acquisition Co., LLC300$358 million 2019 [41] [42]

† Only one of the owners can be that team's NHL Governor.
‡ Child/family member of the team's owner.
2 President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Penguins, David Morehouse, represents the team instead of one of its owners.

See also

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