The Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux ownership group is over. The Pittsburgh Penguins are being sold. John Henry and the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC owenership groups are the ones making the purchase.

Fenway Sports Group is in talks to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to multiple reports.

The group, principally owned by John Henry, owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC and is part owner of the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing NASCAR team.https://t.co/uUVgdrAA0c

— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) November 16, 2021

I think this is a good thing. Mario Lemieux did everything he needed to do and then some to keep the team in Pittsburgh. He oversaw a generation of Penguins hockey that will be tough to be matched. He will be maintaining a minority stake in the Penguins so he won’t be saying goodbye. This is a great way to keep Mario around the team, but give the keys to someone else moving forward. The on-ice future is looking shaky and bold decisions will have to be made.

Both the Red Sox and Liverpool are progressive organizations in how they make their roster decisions and if the Penguins don’t want to get stuck in quicksand during their rebuild (like their opponent tonight) they need to be bold and smart. This new ownership group is likelier to provide the path forward in doing it.

Even more true on the EPL side.https://t.co/eIXnbLpMmM

— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) November 16, 2021

Another positive to this ownership group is that they are flush with resources. Historically, the Penguins have struggled financially and famously to the point where Mario Lemieux became in owner because of the financial debt they owed him. This will no longer be the case. It is still unknown what the new ownership group is paying for the Penguins, but in The Athletic article linked above the Penguins were valued at 845M.

The financial details of a potential sale are not known. The Penguins were recently valued at $845 million by Sportico, which would be the highest price ever paid for an NHL team.

This sale could directly impact the futures of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Depending on how the season plays out for both players the fresh eyes and analytical approach will put emotion to the side and will be business oriented. I do think the chance of both of these players moving on went up today. I still think there is a path for one or both to return, but the terms are going to be more team friendly than if the current ownership group stayed on, in my opinion.

A rebuild after this era of Penguins hockey was always going to be a difficult transition. I think the news today increases the chances of it being more palatable and successful.

Thanks for reading!

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