The ongoing coronavirus pandemic had its financial impact on the NHL, but the Chicago Blackhawks were one of the few hockey teams to not experience a loss in value over the last year.
According to Forbes, the Blackhawks remained the league’s fourth-most valuable franchise, the same position they held in Forbes’ 2019 rankings. The franchise was valued at $1.085 billion, which is the same figure as 2019 but still higher than the 2018 value of $1.05 billion. The top three teams were the same as 2019 and also saw no change in their value: New York Rangers ($1.65 billion), Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.5 billion) and Montreal Canadiens ($1.34 billion).
The Boston Bruins remained in fifth at $1 billion, another franchise with the same value as in 2019. Of the 26 remaining teams on Forbes’ list, only the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders avoided a loss in value. The other 24 NHL teams experienced value declines as part of the financial fallout from an abbreviated regular season and postseason without fans in attendance due to the pandemic.
Five teams lost five percent of their franchise value, the steepest drops on the list: San Jose Sharks (17th on the list), Nashville Predators (25th), Columbus Blue Jackets (29th), Florida Panthers (30th) and Arizona Coyotes (31st).
Click here for the full list of the NHL’s most valuable teams.
Central Division
- 4th — Blackhawks ($1.085B in 2020, $1.085B in 2019), same spot
- 12th — Dallas Stars ($575 million in 2020, $600M in 2019), same
- 18th — St. Louis Blues ($510M in 2020, $530M in 2019), down one spot
- 19th — Minnesota Wild ($500M in 2020, $510M in 2019), same
- 22nd — Colorado Avalanche ($465M in 2020, $475M in 2019), same
- 25th — Nashville Predators ($435M in 2020, $460M in 2019), down one spot
- 27th — Winnipeg Jets ($405M in 2020, $420M in 2019), same/