How the 32 franchises stack up

The average NHL team is currently worth $2.2 billion, according to CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations. This is 15% higher than last year as richer national media rights deals increased franchise values.

NHL in April and Rogers Contact It agreed to a 12-year Canadian national media rights deal worth $7.79 billion, which will begin in the 2026-27 season, according to November 24 exchange rates. That’s more than double what the league got from its 12-year deal with Rogers.

League’s current US national media rights regulations Walt Disney And Warner Brothers DiscoveryTotal assets worth an average of $630 million annually through the 2027-28 season are also expected to see a big increase in the next cycle. “The next U.S. rights deal for the NHL should double down,” said Lee Berke, CEO of LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, whose firm advises teams and leagues on media deals. “Sports rights move the needle for distributors, subscribers and viewers.”

In the 2024-25 season, the revenue of 32 teams in the league increased by 9% compared to the previous season, reaching an average of 243 million dollars. During the same time period, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) increased by 20%, to an average of $54 million per team.

Revenue from national media rights is shared equally among league teams; increases in national media rights proportionately benefit lower-income teams compared to higher-income teams. That’s one reason why the 16 lowest-earning teams in 2024-25 are up an average of 19% in value over the past year; For the 16 teams with the highest income, this rate was 14%.

But teams with great arena economics and rich local television deals still rank at the top of our NHL valuations because during the regular season, teams get all the money from those revenue streams.

The most valuable team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, worth $4.3 billion. According to internal NHL reports obtained by CNBC, the Leafs ranked second in the league with $130 million in net revenue last season. The Maple Leafs also earn about $45 million a year from a local media rights deal with Rogers, the NHL’s third-largest team. The Leafs’ next deal is expected to be around $55 million per year, which would put the team behind only the Montreal Canadiens.

The New York Rangers are the league’s second-largest team, with a value of $3.8 billion. 18% haircut local television rights $35 million For the year ending June 2026 as a result of MSG Networks’ debt restructuring. However, the Rangers were the team that earned the most net income in the regular season last season, with $179 million. Over the past four seasons, the Rangers have earned $615 million in regular season revenues; that’s $152 million more than the second-highest earner, the Maple Leafs.

Canadians are third in the annual rankings with a value of $3.4 billion. The team announced a contract signing in October. new local media rights agreement With Bell Media for both English and French channels. This will pay the team a league-leading salary average of $70 million to $75 million annually starting next season.

The Edmonton Oilers surpassed the Boston Bruins to become the fifth most valuable team and are now worth $3.1 billion. The Oilers have hockey’s biggest superstar in Connor McDavid and have appeared in the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons. Not only did the Oilers have a record year across all revenue sectors in 2024-25, including sponsorships, premium seating, food and beverage and merchandise, they also launched a new local television deal with Rogers this season that could pay the team over $50 million annually, based on advertising revenue.

The ranking of the 32 teams in the NHL is as follows:

Methodology

CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations are current enterprise values ​​(equity plus net debt) calculated using revenue multiples and include the economics of the team’s home turf, including non-NHL revenues accruing to the team’s owner. Valuations do not include the value of stadium real estate.

Revenue figures are net of revenue sharing and the 35% of home playoff non-premium gate revenue going into the revenue sharing pool. Revenue multiples are based on historical checkout trading prices as well as what investors, league executives and bankers say about the market. Purchase prices are for controlling shares and take into account the payment structure and the value of the deal over time.

CNBC values ​​exclude other businesses related to teams with separate financial statements, such as those of the Edmonton Oilers. mixed-use real estate project. For teams that sell their own merchandise, like the Oilers, CNBC deducts the cost of goods sold from merchandise sales. Similarly, CNBC excludes the market value of subsidiaries/equity method investments to ensure that the enterprise value-to-revenue and enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples are consistent. Debt figures are the latest available and include both team debt and stadium debt.

Evaluations are based on the team’s current field unless there is an agreement for the team to move or acquire a new field. Values ​​are adjusted for teams whose stadium economies will soon improve, such as the Calgary Flames, who are scheduled to move to a new arena for the 2027-28 season, and the Washington Capitals, who are scheduled to move to a new arena for the 2027-28 season. arena project It is planned to be completed in the 2027-28 season. Similarly, CNBC valuations are predicting a significant increase in the NHL’s next US national broadcast deal, starting with the 2028-29 season.

Revenue and EBITDA figures are for the 2024-25 season and are net, excluding revenue sharing and player escrow. CNBC presents revenue and operating income figures on a cash basis, not an accrual basis. The CNBC figures differ from the league’s official hockey-related revenue because we also include non-NHL arena revenue that goes to teams. When the owner of the arena also owns both an NHL team and an NBA team playing in the arena (as is the case with Toronto’s Maple Leafs and Raptors, Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, and Utah’s Mammoth and Jazz, among others), we split revenue from non-sports events held at the arena equally between the two teams.

All valuation figures are in US dollars and are based on a one-year average exchange rate of 1 Canadian Dollar = US$0.72 from June 2024 to June 2025.

Sources for CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations include team owners, investors and executives, as well as sports bankers and league advisors; public documents such as stadium leases, stadium authority budget audits, and credit rating reports; sponsorship and publishing industry managers. Some of the numbers were provided by league executives who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity because the deals are private and they are not authorized to talk about them publicly.

Figures that cannot be verified by sources are CNBC estimates. Some figures used in calculating values ​​may be approximate.