Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle have not called off the sale of the Penguins, a source told DKPittsburghSports.com early Thursday afternoon, contrary to a report hours earlier in the New York Post.
I'd caution all that the Post has written some really strange things about the Penguins of late.
Update 12:54 p.m.: The Penguins will be issuing a statement in short order on the topic. It is expected to reject the Post report, according to a source.
1:10 p.m.: Here's a joint statement from Lemieux and Burkle, in full:
"Contrary to a media report regarding the potential sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there is no disagreement between us and we remain completely aligned in both approach and philosophy. We continue to explore all of our strategic options, including a possible sale.
"There is not, and has never been, an established price for the team, and we are still in conversations with potential buyers.
"It is unfortunate that we even have to respond to a story based on anonymous quotes."
4:25 p.m.: As promised, here's more information on this ongoing process, based on several conversations this afternoon:
• There's zero rift between Lemieux and Burkle. There never has been. I doubt there ever will be. I know both men. I trust both men. I know how they feel, on this, on the sale and on other matters. There's no issue between them. If you don't believe me on this, feel free to never believe another syllable I write. I'm convinced of this completely.
• The team is absolutely up for sale. Nothing has changed in that regard. I've had this firmly confirmed, including, strikingly, from Morgan Stanley itself. There remain multiple suitors -- as many as a handful -- as well as multiple options for an outcome, but nothing has changed in the concept that the team is for sale and that, even once it's sold, Lemieux would like to retain some sort of stake and stay involved.
• Any dollar figures that anyone is throwing around, in addition to the idea that the Penguins have attached a price tag, have no merit. In fact, that's not even how these things work. Potential suitors know the general range, and they engage Morgan Stanley by submitting bids. This isn't a used car sale.
• The notion put forth in the Post article that the Penguins will lose money if they don't make the playoffs is hilariously false. My goodness. I've only got a peripheral knowledge of their finances, and that one had me laughing out loud.
Beyond this, I'd be sharing information that was given to me on background -- simply so I'd have some basis for conviction in what I'm writing -- and I'm not at liberty to do that.
To summarize, it's status quo on this. The Penguins are up for sale, still talking.