St. Louis Blues anticipate new ownership before new season begins – NHL offseason Update
Current St. Louis Blues owner and chairman, David Checketts, had put his Western Conference, National Hockey League (NHL) franchise on sale even before the previous regular season ended, but still has yet to find a good enough offer to actually let the club
go.
Now, after more than three months, Checketts is still on the lookout for a proper investment group, but anticipates a done deal by the beginning of the new 2011-2012 season which will start in October.
"We expect to have something done by the start of the season. ... We expect to have an orderly sale process. It'll be done by the start of the season," Checketts told reporters on Wednesday evening.
Unlike the other teams throughout the league who have either faced sudden and disruptive changes when transitioning to a new ownership like Dallas Stars (who are yet to find an ownership and have lost star player, Brad Richards, due to the uneven process)
or even Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis hopes to follow a smoother model like Buffalo Sabres.
According to Forbes Magazine, St. Louis Blues is worth an estimated $165 million, a little more than $10 million from when the SCP Worldwide and TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P. purchased the franchise back in 2006 for $153 million.
Now considering all factors that are up for sale other than the team which include the lease to their Scottrade Centre and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate club in Peoria, the ownership is expected to make at least $200 million or more.
As soon as St. Louis club went on sale, speculations arose to why the ownership would feel to have taken such action. Looking at their five season history, Blues have not been able to make the playoffs throughout the entire time. This situation has certainly
put fans on alert concerning their teams’ future being at stake.
Checketts addressed that issue as well and regarded the team as strong and stable.
"If fans had a reason to be worried, it would be we hadn't signed T.J. (Oshie), we did nothing at the free agent (signing period)", Checketts said. "That would be a cause of concern. We went out and kept our whole team together. The young talent is back.
I think we're solid everywhere”.
Finishing off in the lower ranks of the Western Conference last season, St. Louis still outperformed a number of NHL teams like Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, which are just a few out of many examples.
There should be no reason to believe the Blues franchise is headed downwards head first, but should hope for circumstances like Buffalo’s situation as Terry Pegula, a Billionaire businessman from Pennsylvania took over, the team has not seen better days
since.
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