Toronto Maple Leafs home arena.
According to the Sportico (USA) platform, the value of the franchise is $4.25 billion, up 16% year over year. The club leads the NHL in all key indicators – the volume of contracts with sponsors, revenue from ticket sales, revenue from television broadcasts, the level of interaction with the media and others. The positive trend of the club’s development continues despite the fact that the last time the Stanley Cup came to Toronto was in 1967.
The value of the Toronto Maple Leafs has more than doubled in four years. The franchise was worth $2 billion in 2021, $2.12 billion in 2022, $2.65 billion in 2023 and $3.66 billion last year, but the 16% year-over-year increase in value puts it just 16th in the rankings.
The Florida Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup winners, showed the most rapid growth. Their value increased by 51% over the year to $1.89 billion (17th place in the ranking). The weakest growth was demonstrated by the San Jose Sharks franchise, whose value increased by only 5% to $1.49 billion (27th place).
The Carolina Hurricanes franchise showed the best progress in the ranking, moving up 10 positions (now in 15th place). Its value is $1.92 billion, up 49% year over year. Canadian franchises Ottawa Senators ($1.34 billion / +18%), Winnipeg Jets ($1.33 billion / +21%) and one American franchise – Columbus Blue Jackets ($1.3 billion / +23%) made the bottom of the list.
The average value of NHL teams has increased 17% since 2024 to $2.1 billion. By comparison, the average value of an NFL (American soccer) club is $6.49 billion, the NBA (basketball) is $4.66 billion, and MLB (baseball) is $2.62 billion. All 32 NHL franchises are valued at $67.1 billion.
The NHL consists of 32 franchises that own the rights to clubs in the world’s largest hockey league. The backbone is the “Big Six”, which includes the oldest active representatives of the league – Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers (all – USA), Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs (both – Canada). They are traditionally among the 10 most expensive NHL franchises (see table).
The NHL was formed in 1917 by five Canadian clubs – the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wan-derers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs and Toronto Arenas (the current Toronto Maple Leafs). By 1931, the league had grown to 10 members, but was reduced to six during the Great Depression. From 1942 through 1967, only the Big Six clubs played in the NHL.
In 1967, the number of league participants doubled, then the division was divided into divisions. From 1970 to 1974, the NHL added six rookies and had 18 participants. In 1978, the league became one less participant. The NHL resumed expansion in 1979, continuing through 1991-1993 and 1998-2000. The youngest NHL members are the Vegas Golden Knights, who joined the league in 2017, the Seattle Kraken (2021) and the Utah Mammoth, who became the 32nd franchise in 2024. NHL executives are interested in expanding to 34 members.
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TOP-10 most expensive NHL franchises in 2025 |
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|
№ |
Franchise with a club of the same name | Value* |
Growth (per year) |
|
1 |
“Toronto Maple Leafs |
$4.25 billion |
16% |
|
2 |
“New York Rangers |
$3.65 billion |
12% |
|
3 |
“Montreal Canadiens |
$3.3 billion |
13% |
|
4 |
“Boston Bruins |
$3 billion |
12% |
|
5 |
“Los Angeles Kings |
$2.96 billion |
18% |
|
6 |
“Edmonton Oilers |
$2.76 billion |
15% |
|
7 |
“Chicago Blackhawks |
$2.74 billion |
12% |
|
8 |
“Philadelphia Flyers |
$2.66 billion |
16% |
|
9 |
“Washington Capitals |
$2.3 billion |
24% |
|
10 |
“Detroit Red Wings |
$2.11 billion. |
14% |
| * According to Sportico platform (USA) | |||
