There's shooting, there's scoring, and there's setting up to sell for nearly a billion dollars.
Give it up for Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle: They've really lit the lamp.
I was told late Tuesday night by an impeccable source that the Penguins' sale price to the Fenway Sports Group, if the transaction's consummated -- more on that in a bit -- will be $900 million. Details remain to be resolved, and some financial components are part of that, per the source, but that's the base price, and it's ... wow, something.
It's a win and a half for a franchise that most independent financial publications had pegged as being valued in the $700 million range. And it's also a win, of course, many times over for Lemieux, who gained ownership equity through being owed $32 million as a player, and for Burkle, whose initial investment in 1999 was $22 million.
But man, it was hard-earned.
First and foremost, really, it's a testament to what hockey's become in Pittsburgh under the current ownership group, management, the coaches and players ... but also the public. A 663-game sellout streak was ended only by a pandemic, TV ratings continue to be the NHL's highest in the United States, and the quantity and quality of youth participation in the region is at once-unimaginable levels.
More people than Lemieux and Burkle deserve credit for all that, of course, but every business starts at the top.
Lemieux and Burkle were front and center in the bankruptcy episode upon taking over, not only righting the books but also paying off creditors in full even though the court hadn't mandated that. They were vocal and visible throughout the NHL's labor stoppage in 2004, fighting to get a salary cap system that'd make for fair competition in markets like Pittsburgh, restore health and vibrancy to the game in Canada, and create -- eventually -- an uncommon bond between league and union toward the betterment of the sport. And, yes, to the one thing most often noticed about ownership, they invariably spent to the cap, even in the pandemic year when all teams were bleeding red ink.
Why?
Well, one of them's Mario. His name's synonymous with superlatives in this part of the world, so anything I'd add would be redundant bordering on insulting.
The other's Burkle, who could never be as well known but, as I can attest from personal experience, ranks right up there with being competitive. A self-made billionaire, he turned a modest California grocery chain into an empire. And as co-owner here ... I could share all kinds of stories, but the one that sticks out was when he pulled me aside in a corridor outside the Penguins' locker room in Washington to confide that there was no way the team could keep Marc-Andre Fleury. He expressed with deep emotion a frustration with the expansion draft system, saying he'd pay the Golden Knights $15 million out of his own pocket -- that was each team's gain from the Vegas entry fee -- if they'd leave him unclaimed.
OK, just one more: In Nashville, scene of the second consecutive Cup, as I worked my way around the ice, I tugged on his left shoulder from behind to get his attention. He was watching the trophy get passed from one player to the next. And when he turned around to identify the tugger, I saw tears welling in his eyes.
There's good ownership, there's great, and there's three-rings great.
• In my exclusive reporting yesterday on the sale's details, I wrote that Burkle's out, that he wouldn't be part of this ownership. That's what I was told by a source who'd absolutely know, and it was accurate in the moment.
Then, late Tuesday night, I was told Burkle might be changing his mind on that count, that he might remain involved.
Stay tuned. I expect to know more on that front Wednesday.
• I'll say it again: This isn't done. Everyone on both sides believes it's going to be done, but it isn't yet. For real. Neither side's voted on it -- the Fenway Group's vote is expected Thursday -- and there remain significant components that aren't at all settled.
Nor, by the way, is there any timetable for it to be settled, though the dialogue sure strikes me as sooner rather than later.
• Three weeks ago, I'd gotten wind of another party pursuing a purchase of the Penguins. Not the same one.
Upon immediately reaching out to people I trust atop the organization, I was convinced that the team wasn't attempting to get a sale and that this approach wasn't being entertained, even though it was from a billionaire. (No, I'm not sharing who it was, because that was the condition of getting the information from that individual.) I also was informed by the Penguins that similar approaches occur all the time, something I've heard over the years from the other teams in town, as well. So I set it aside.
• Good thing, too, because this pursuit wasn't that pursuit. This one arrived, I'm told, like a bolt.
The Fenway Group contacted the Penguins -- not the other way around, it should be stressed -- and expressed their goal of adding an "iconic" hockey and basketball team, one each, to their portfolio that already includes Major League Baseball's Red Sox and Liverpool of English soccer's Premier League. That outreach, because of the Group's deep pockets, didn't take long to become much more.
• No, I don't know which NBA team they'd covet, but I can confidently divulge that it's one of the 30 NBA teams I know nothing about.
• No, the Penguins aren't moving. Stop that at once.
Which part of 663 consecutive sellouts and No. 1 ratings in the U.S. could possibly cause anyone to believe a move would make sense?
But, for the excessively paranoid, I'll lay out that no new NHL owner is allowed to move a franchise for seven years after the purchase. Oh, and there's this little detail, as well: The iron-clad lease between the team, the city and the Sports & Exhibition Authority that owns the arena runs through 2040. As in ... twenty ... freaking ... forty.
• No, the Fenway Group's not buying the Pirates. Stop that at once.
Can't own two teams in the same league. Also, the Pirates aren't for sale. (But then, neither were the Penguins!)
• I know about as much about John Henry as I know about the NBA. Or the Red Sox or Liverpool soccer, for that matter.
I'll do the due diligence in the days and weeks to come. Promise.
But I know this about him right now: The Red Sox hadn't won a damned thing for a century, then won four World Series under his ownership. (Including with Ben Cherington as GM, I'll add.) And Liverpool hadn't won an English championship in three decades until capturing the 2020 Premier League title, a year after taking home the UEFA Champions League title. All of that came in non-salary-cap settings, meaning the ownership commitment had to be more monetary than anything.
• One individual I do know within the Fenway Group is Pittsburgh native Larry Lucchino, who's mostly retired now but still serves in 'emeritus' capacities. Which brings up another story to share: When the Pirates visited Fenway Park in 2005, their first game in Boston in 102 years, Larry stopped up at the press box to offer me a personal tour of the place -- inside the Green Monster and everything -- to beam with pride to people back in Western Pennsylvania about how beautifully the old place has been maintained.
• I don't know what to think, either. Honestly. And I'm not going to rush it. What kind of owners these might be, what that means for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, the current management team, other components to the future -- there isn't an informed opinion to have on that. There just isn't.
My reflexive response is what's above. It's to look back at what the current ownership group's achieved and applaud that. It's also to appreciate that Lemieux will still have a voice and presence, and that Burkle might, too. And I guarantee that anyone who sat through that stinker against the Sabres on this Tuesday night found at least some solace in seeing Mario and Nathalie still in the owner's box.
There's no imagining the Pittsburgh Penguins without 66. Let's not lose sight of the real headline on the day.
