Without these five teams, the NHL would have suffered huge losses last season

Earlier this week, Forbes released it's annual list of the most valuable teams in the NHL, pointing out that overall team values were down for the first time in decades. The average value among NHL teams is $653 million, down about two percent from last season. But, lost in the shuffle of the information from Forbes was the fact that five teams are really propping up the entire league, so much so that without them, the NHL would have lost millions last season.

The teams is question are the New York Rangers ($1.65 billion), the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.5 billion), the Montreal Canadiens (($1.34 billion), the Chicago Blackhawks ($1.085 billion) and the Boston Bruins ($1 billion). With the NHL's revenue-sharing program, these five teams were directly responsible for the league not being in the hole to the tune of $50 million last season. They account for almost one-quarter of the revenue generated by the entire 31-team league. The biggest money bleeders, according to Forbes, likely won't come as a surprise to most hockey fans. They are the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres. However, it's worth noting that even the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning took an operating loss of $11 million last season.

The five teams listed above are the only ones in the NHL with a valuation of at least $1 billion. By comparison, all 30 NBA teams are worth at least $1 billion. Yes, even the Memphis Grizzlies. It should be no surprise, then that NBA players make as much in one-year as some of the more significant multi-year contracts in the NHL. Given this information, it's also easier to see why owners are so concerned about starting up another season without being able to sell tickets to fans. Yes, the vast majority of owners are billionaires, or pretty close. That doesn't mean they will willingly lose large amounts of money. The easiest way to remain rich is not getting involved in ventures you know will result in a loss.

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