For the second time within the final 5 years, possession of the Pittsburgh Penguins is altering arms. Fenway Sports activities Group (FSG) is promoting the franchise to the Chicago-based Hoffmann household funding group, per NHL insider Frank Seravalli.

The sale value is $1.7 billion, in keeping with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That is available in precisely the place Sportico valued the Penguins initially of the season, which was a 16% enhance from the earlier 12 months.

FSG, which is led by co-founder John Henry, simply bought the Penguins again in 2021 when it struck a take care of the previous possession group led by franchise legend Mario Lemieux. Again in July, The Athletic reported that Lemieux was “very ” in regaining his controlling stake within the group. Nevertheless, that bid apparently fell brief as FSG accepted the Hoffmann household bid.

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Though it’s promoting the Penguins, FSG nonetheless owns among the greatest manufacturers in worldwide sports activities, together with the Boston Crimson Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

David Hoffmann is the founder and chairman of the Hoffman Household of Firms, and this isn’t the group’s first foray into hockey. The funding firm additionally owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, in addition to Hertz Enviornment, the place the Everblades play in Estero, Florida.

This sale comes when the Penguins are in a interval of transition on the ice. In 2023, the group’s streak of 16 straight postseason appearances got here to an finish, and Pittsburgh hasn’t returned to the playoffs since. Franchise legends like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are within the twilight of their careers, and the Penguins could quickly be compelled to usher in a completely new period as they slip out of the playoff image this season.