The NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Hoffmann family on Monday for $1.7 billion, marking the second-largest franchise transaction in league history and Fenway Sports Group's exit from hockey after a four-year hold. The deal closes with $200 million in deferred consideration tied to arena renovation milestones through 2028, according to two people familiar with the structure.
Fenway acquired the Penguins in November 2021 for $900 million from Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, who retained minority stakes. Fenway now walks with a 1.89x gross multiple in 54 months, modest by recent comps but clean given the Crosby succession problem every buyer priced in. The Hoffmann family, led by CEO Robert Hoffmann, operates Shepler's Ferry Service on Mackinac Island and has owned the Florida Everblades, an ECHL affiliate, since 2019. The Everblades won three Kelly Cups in five seasons under Hoffmann management, a detail that apparently registered with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during the vetting process.
The price sits $300 million below the Ottawa Senators' $2 billion sale to Michael Andlauer in September 2023, but $500 million above the Arizona Coyotes' relocation transaction to Utah earlier this year. Pittsburgh's arena lease runs through 2040 with the city holding naming rights, a structure that limits upside but eliminates the relocation leverage that inflated recent Sun Belt valuations. The Penguins generated $294 million in revenue last season, fourth in the Metropolitan Division, with 78% of luxury suites pre-sold for 2025-26 despite a three-year playoff drought. Corporate sponsorship revenue grew 11% year-over-year, driven by healthcare and financial services categories replacing legacy steel and manufacturing deals.
The succession timeline matters more than the price. Sidney Crosby turns 38 in August, Evgeni Malkin is 39, and the franchise has missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons. The Hoffmanns inherit a team with $61 million in salary-cap space committed to five players over 32, a scouting department Fenway downsized in 2023, and a local television contract with AT&T SportsNet that expires in 2027 with no renewal talks scheduled. Fenway's operational playbook—data infrastructure, revenue optimization, brand extension—did not translate to a market where the median household income is $54,000 and the core season-ticket base skews 55-plus. The Hoffmanns, by contrast, have no Liverpool or Red Sox to justify Boston-based analytics overhead.
The family is expected to name a president of hockey operations by mid-July, with Ron Hextall and Jason Botterill both taking meetings in Pittsburgh last week, according to a league source. The Everblades' general manager, Craig Brush, is not under consideration for the NHL role but will remain in Florida. The Hoffmanns plan to keep Kyle Dubas as general manager through the 2025-26 season, his contract year, then evaluate based on playoff qualification. Dubas has already traded for three first-round picks in the next two drafts, a rebuild hedge Fenway approved last summer when the sale process began.
The deal also reshapes Fenway's sports portfolio. The group now holds the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, and a NASCAR team, with reported interest in a WNBA expansion franchise if Boston's bid succeeds. Fenway's Penguins investment generated most of its return from arena-related real estate appreciation rather than team operations, a structure the Hoffmanns did not replicate; they are buying only the franchise and hockey operations, not the surrounding development rights Fenway held through a separate LLC. That spread suggests the real asset was never the team.
The NHL's Board of Governors vote was unanimous, with Bettman citing the Hoffmanns' "multi-generational commitment to hockey" in a statement that did not mention Fenway by name. The NHL now has five ownership groups with no prior major-league experience, a shift from a decade ago when private equity and entertainment conglomerates dominated transactions. The Hoffmanns will formally take control on July 1, with a press conference scheduled at PPG Paints Arena the following day. Crosby is not expected to attend, though his agent, Pat Brisson, was in Pittsburgh for the announcement.
The takeaway
Fenway exits Pittsburgh with a clean **1.89x** return in 54 months as regional operators with minor-league experience replace conglomerate ownership across the NHL.
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