Pardon the abbreviated franchise feature for the week, but it's been so busy that I honestly didn't think I'd have one at all ... until Mario Lemieux showed up.
Which he really did, perched up here in a PPG Paints Arena suite with Nathalie, visibly enjoying the Penguins beating the Islanders on this Thursday night for the first time to see an NHL game in ... wow, I can't be sure, but I think since he hung around after the Jaromir Jagr number retirement Feb. 18, 2024.
Afterward, he visited the locker room, spent some time talking with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang -- lots of time with Sid -- and was introduced by team staffers to Dan Muse, then to youngsters Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty.
So, what brought this on?
With Fenway Sports Group entertaining offers to buy the franchise, with Lemieux and Ron Burkle known to have been in negotiations with Fenway, and with an apparent attempt, if not outright agreement, having been made by the Chicago-based Hoffman Family of Companies to do likewise?
Well, here's what came from my multiple conversations on this through the evening:
• Yep, Mario's still interested.
• Some prior information I'd received -- but hadn't reported -- that the Hoffman entity isn't anywhere near as capitalized as most NHL owners ... yeah, that won some strong support. Doesn't mean it's dead-on. But my goodness, David Hoffman, chairman of the entity, was reported to have a net worth of $1.6 billion in 2024 by the New York Times. And unless that's multiplied many times over in the past year, he'll have a subzero chance of gaining the NHL Board of Governors' blessing. Because my reported agreement price was $1.75 billion and ... uh, no.
• Everyone -- as in, everyone -- with whom I spoke here was already aware of what's above. More than one of them wearing broad smiles when the subject arose.
• The gap between what Fenway'd been seeking and what Lemieux/Burkle were offering was $400 million. Fenway wanted $1.5 billion, and Lemieux/Burkle offered $1.1 billion. I had all of that re-confirmed but was unable to discern if there'd been any fresh figures exchanged.
THE ASYLUM
Friday Insider: So, why was Mario here?
Pardon the abbreviated franchise feature for the week, but it's been so busy that I honestly didn't think I'd have one at all ... until Mario Lemieux showed up.
Which he really did, perched up here in a PPG Paints Arena suite with Nathalie, visibly enjoying the Penguins beating the Islanders on this Thursday night for the first time to see an NHL game in ... wow, I can't be sure, but I think since he hung around after the Jaromir Jagr number retirement Feb. 18, 2024.
Afterward, he visited the locker room, spent some time talking with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang -- lots of time with Sid -- and was introduced by team staffers to Dan Muse, then to youngsters Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty.
So, what brought this on?
With Fenway Sports Group entertaining offers to buy the franchise, with Lemieux and Ron Burkle known to have been in negotiations with Fenway, and with an apparent attempt, if not outright agreement, having been made by the Chicago-based Hoffman Family of Companies to do likewise?
Well, here's what came from my multiple conversations on this through the evening:
• Yep, Mario's still interested.
• Some prior information I'd received -- but hadn't reported -- that the Hoffman entity isn't anywhere near as capitalized as most NHL owners ... yeah, that won some strong support. Doesn't mean it's dead-on. But my goodness, David Hoffman, chairman of the entity, was reported to have a net worth of $1.6 billion in 2024 by the New York Times. And unless that's multiplied many times over in the past year, he'll have a subzero chance of gaining the NHL Board of Governors' blessing. Because my reported agreement price was $1.75 billion and ... uh, no.
• Everyone -- as in, everyone -- with whom I spoke here was already aware of what's above. More than one of them wearing broad smiles when the subject arose.
• The gap between what Fenway'd been seeking and what Lemieux/Burkle were offering was $400 million. Fenway wanted $1.5 billion, and Lemieux/Burkle offered $1.1 billion. I had all of that re-confirmed but was unable to discern if there'd been any fresh figures exchanged.
All I've got. Wish I had more. I'll keep pushing.
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