from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

A new report from Sportico ranking the valuations of every NHL team made one thing perfectly clear: it’s never been a better time to be an NHL team owner. Franchise values surged so that the average franchise is reportedly up nine percent and pegged at a combined total of $32.4 billion. That’s not chump change. That’s a success. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has done very well for the owners who employ him.

Indeed, if we take a closer look at the financial mechanisms in place for the NHL, we see why Bettman and team owners so willingly agreed to an extension of the collective bargaining agreement in 2020. Owners are making money hand over fist, while players’ salaries have, in some regards, flatlined. As owners have watched team values soar, many players’ paydays have hit a ceiling. Bettman’s hard salary cap has worked as intended, and players’ leverage has disappeared prior to, and under the reign of NHL Players’ Association boss Don Fehr. There are a few options the players have to try and regain some leverage, and the one that does exist is not a half-measure. We’ll get into that in a handful of paragraphs from now. But let’s get back to Sportico’s appraisal of NHL teams.

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