If you believed everything written by the mainstream media, the NHL is struggling – mightily. Teams don’t have the money they should, revenues aren’t as high as they could be, and many teams throughout the USA are in danger of sale or worse, relocation, if things don’t pick up.
Don’t be so naïve.
Although
Forbes might claim that 13 of 30 NHL teams operated at a loss last season, the valuations and financial information fail drastically to take into account the fact that NHL teams rarely operate independently, as the owner’s only form of revenue. For example, take the Florida Panthers, who
Forbes claimed lost $12 million last season. Although that number might be accurate in terms of what the hockey team, by itself, accomplished financially, but it fails to recognize that the simple presence of the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida helps the revenue of all other entities owned by Sunrise Sports and Entertainment, specifically the BB&T Center.
The actual numbers show that although the “Panthers” lost $7.5 million per season between 1998 and 2012, the organization (Sunrise Sports and Entertainment) actually made $117.4 million in profit in that same time period. If the Panthers were not in existence, SSE’s revenues would drop, leaving the organization nearly penniless. The hockey team may have lost money, but the organization as a whole is more than profitable.
Similarly, the revenues of the Philadelphia Flyers, one of the most successful teams in the NHL, are reported at just $124 million last season. As a piece of a larger corporation – Comcast-Spectacor – this suggests the Flyers make up just four percent of this massive sports conglomerate. Wouldn’t that then suggest that if the Flyers were to disappear, the organization would be just fine without them?
Hardly. Although the Flyers themselves reportedly had just $124 million in revenue, billions of dollars of revenue stem from the team’s presence – including hundreds of millions that are derived solely from suites and club boxes that are sold not only for Flyers games, but other events at the Wells Fargo Center.
Comcast-Spectacor is a $4 billion company, comprised of 11 different entities, including the Flyers. But without the Flyers, the company would not be nearly what it is currently. It would still be a large, profitable company, but simply because of the presence of one of the most valuable NHL teams in history, the company and the arena it owns and operates is able to make a windfall.
Unfortunately, that leaves teams like the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets, among others, vulnerable to the ups and downs of the economy and a volatile NHL season.
But the next time you see a report claiming that an NHL team is losing money and in danger of relocating, dig a little deeper before you believe it at face value.
Alan Bass, a former writer for The Hockey News and THN.com, is the author of "The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed The NHL Forever." You can contact him at [email protected], or on Twitter at @NHL_AlanBass. 
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