BUFFALO – The Sabres’ awful on-ice performance hasn’t hurt the team’s value.
Forbes’ annual list of NHL franchise values pegs the Sabres worth $250 million, 22nd in the league. The Sabres ranked 22nd last year at $175 million.
Sabres owner Terry Pegula paid $189 million for the team in 2011.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the NHL’s most valuable team at $1.15 billion. The Columbus Blue Jackets are the least valuable at $175 million.
According to Forbes, this is the first time since the magazine began rankings in 1998 that three of the league’s five most valuable teams – Toronto, the Montreal Canadiens ($775 million) and Vancouver Canucks ($700 million) – are Canadian.
The New York Rangers rank No. 2 behind Toronto at $850 million.
