Report: Nashville Predators sale closing at $880 million, short of NHL record

According to Front Office Sports’ Owen Poindexter, the Nashville Predators’ impending purchase by former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam is set to value the team at $880 million.

That total would be five times more than what Forbes valued the team as back in December.

The NHL’s record price was $900 million, set when the Pittsburgh Penguins were purchased by the Fenway Sports Group back late in 2021.

Haslam, the brother of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, is buying 60 percent of the team that was previously owned by Herb Fritch. Last June, the chairman of the Nashville Predators has agreed to sell the majority of his stake to Haslam.

Haslam will purchase the team in four installments starting this year. By 2025, Haslam will have majority ownership of the team.

Craig Leipold, who currently owns the Minnesota Wild, was the original owner of the Predators when he bought an expansion slot for $80 million in 1997. He sold the team off to a group of locally based buyers in 2008.

On the ice, the Predators have been quite involved in the recent Western Conference wild-card race. The team sits in the fourth spot, one point behind Calgary and two points behind Winnipeg. The Predators beat the Flames in the shootout last night, and despite the Flames having an advantage in the standings, they were eliminated from contention with one game left – not enough time to overtake the Jets. The Predators will need to win its next two games, with the Jets losing, to take the final wild-card spot at the last possible moment.

The Preds will close the season out against Minnesota on Thursday and Colorado on Friday.

The Ottawa Senators are currently for sale, with Forbes valuing the team at $800 million. Among the interested parties are actor Ryan Reynolds and Montreal Canadiens minority owner Michael Andlauer.