The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the verge of a new ownership era after the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the team’s sale to the Hoffmann Family of Companies.
The deal is expected to wrap up shortly, bringing Fenway Sports Group’s tenure as controlling owner to a close. The Hoffmann family will take over one of hockey’s most well-known franchises. While exact financial terms were not made public, earlier reports had suggested the sale price was around $1.7 billion.
Geoff Hoffmann, who serves as CEO of the company’s private equity division, will take on the role of the Penguins’ governor. Greg Hoffmann, David Hoffmann, and Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas will each serve as alternate governors.
“This is a defining moment for our family,” Geoff Hoffmann said in a statement. “The Penguins represent everything Hoffmann Family of Companies stands for — community, excellence and long-term thinking. We look forward to building on the team’s success by providing support and resources to both Kyle Dubas and the hockey operations team, as well as the established leadership group on the business side. We’re proud to represent this storied franchise and are eager to become an active, invested part of the Pittsburgh community.”
Fenway Sports Group originally acquired the Penguins back in 2021 for a reported $900 million from an ownership group that included Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. The franchise boasts five Stanley Cup championships, three of which came under that previous ownership group, with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang leading the charge.
The Penguins’ performance under Fenway Sports Group was less impressive, with the team missing the playoffs three times and suffering two first-round exits during that stretch. This past season, Pittsburgh finished 41-25-16 before being eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the opening round.
The Hoffmann family is no stranger to hockey ownership. The group has owned the Florida Everblades, an ECHL team, since 2019. The Everblades have claimed multiple Kelly Cup championships under the Hoffmanns, including a title this season.
