The Puck Stops Here

One of the best indicators of the incredible amounts of money made by owners in NHL hockey is the escalating value of hockey franchises. The Toronto Star reports that Bill and Nancy Laurie (WalMart heirs) are about to sell the St Louis Blues to former Madison Square Gardens president Dave Checketts. The selling price is $150 million. This is an increase of $50 million (50%) from the price the Laurie's paid in 1999 (6 years ago).

That is strong proof that owning an NHL team allows owners to make insane amounts of money. Afterall, St Louis is expected to be one of the weaker teams in the West Conference, they haven't even played a game since 2004 and yet their value has gone up by 50% in six years. The price of businesses that lose money do not escalate by 50% in 6 years. It doesn't happen.

Of course this won't stop the owners from claiming significant losses ... and many of the fans will believe them.