New York Rangers are listed as NHL’s most valuable team for eighth straight year

New York Rangers have been listed as the most valuable NHL team for an eighth straight year, with their worth estimated by Forbes at a whopping $2.2BILLION.

The team, owned by James Dolan and MSG Sports, are mainstays at the top of the list despite having not won any of their four Stanley Cups since 1994.

This season, the Manhattan-based outfit are only the fifth-best team in the Metropolitan Division, having won just 15 of their 30 matches so far.

The New York Rangers celebrate securing a 4-3 overtime win against the New Jersey Devils

James Dolan (center), who also owns the New York Knicks, will be delighted with the valuation

But despite their average form on the ice, off it their finances are looking rosy, with the second-placed Toronto Maple Leafs ($2bn) trailing in their wake.

Overall, as reported by Front Office Sports, NHL team valuations are up 19% this year, with the Rangers themselves up 10% from 2021. 

Much of the league-wide boost has been due to the new media rights deal with Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which will see the league paid a whopping $400m annually by ESPN and $250m a year from Warner Bros.

Third in the list of the top 10 are the Molson Family’s Montreal Canadiens ($1.85bn), while the Chicago Blackhawks round out the top four with their $1.5bn valuation.  

This week, there was some movement in the owners’ stable too, with Samantha Holloway joining her father David Bonderman as co-owner of the Seattle Kraken.

Holloway becomes the third NHL franchise owner, joining Ann Walton Kroenke of the Colorado Avalanche, and Kim Pegula of the Buffalo Sabres. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs are listed as the second-most valuable team in the NHL this year