ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Sportico released the valuation of all 32 NHL Teams this week and the St. Louis Blues valuation rose quite a bit.
According to Sportico, the St. Louis Blues valuation rose up 25% from just $770 million to $965 million. The valuation puts the Blues just shy of surpassing the $1 billion threshold for the first time in franchise history.
Every NHL Team saw their valuation increase from anywhere between 15%(Winnipeg Jets) to a 59% increase (Carolina Hurricanes). The average NHL team increased in value by 29% over the last year, with the Blues falling just shy of the mark.
The massive increases by the likes of the Carolina Hurricanes (59%) and San Jose Sharks (40%) dropped the Blues down from the 24th most valuable franchise to the 26th most.
The Blues are one of 10 franchises to be worth under a billion dollars, but with the increases from this year, it shouldn't be long before the Blues surpass the billion dollar mark unless another pandemic or a zombie apocalypse happens.
In 2022, only 11 clubs were valued over $1 billion. This year, that number doubled with 22 teams in the mark. With every NHL club except the Arizona Coyotes having a valuation of at least $880 million, if the pace continues, only Arizona Coyotes could likely be the only NHL club to not worth over $1 billion next year.
Part of the reason why NHL teams value have skyrocketed seems likely to stem from the sale of the Ottawa Senators, which sold for close to $1 billion. The sale might've put upward pressure on valuations around the league — especially for franchises previously considered to be comparable to the Senators, like the Blues, who are just ahead of the Senators in valuation and make a lot more revenue than the Senators, who make the second-least revenue in the league with $139 million.
For context, the Blues made $175 million last season, which was the same number as 2021-22 season. The Toronto Maple Leafs, unsurprisngly, led the league in revenue with the team racking up $327 million in revenue last year.
