That's right, they want to buy the ENTIRE league! And they're apparently offering over $3 billion! I can't help but think that price is too high considering the league's status, and if you're a successful franchise owner why would you want to sell?

And if a player wanted more money how could he expect a better offer from another team if all the teams are owned by one company?

Good question Joe. If I were the NHL, I would review this proposal with a whole lot of caution. It would certainly be in line with all the other mega corporate buyouts going on in the country right now.

I don't fathom how a single corporation could own the NHL in its entirety. It seems that collusion (God, I love that word!) would be one of--and the smallest--of problems to arise. Part of their argument: "...bolster the league's revenue because all of the teams would work together to generate more local television, sponsorship, and revenue instead of competing against one another," makes no sense whatsoever. At present, the only NHL teams that may compete with other teams for revenues are in NY or LA. The other teams aren't competing with other NHL entities for revenues--they're fighting for dollars against other (more popular) sports.

~Adam

It's conceptually interesting. I figure that having one owner would change the game somewhat. The owner's interest would be to maximize revenue in all markets. To do that you'd need the most competitive team possible in each location. Performance would tend to gravitate towards an average and away from a situation in which you have some great teams and many mediocrities.

I think it's a terrbile idea. I picture it being like the MLS when it started. With all teams being owned by the league they could start franchises and fold them as they saw fit with really no consideration for the fans, or for a possible owner to step up and save a franchise in the city. Also with the possibility of that happening there is no way the NHLPA would go for it, it would limit such things as free agency and arbitration, and if they were worried about a salary cap before there is no way the sole ownership will allow one team to spend more than any other.

The proposed amount works out to $100 million per team. As I read this morning here, that's fine for Carolina (estimated value per Forbes magazine: $100 million) but not for Philadelphia (Forbes estimated value: $264 million).