While former Pittsburgh Penguins captain and franchise principal owner Mario Lemieux has shown interest in re-acquiring the franchise from the Fenway Sports Group, all indications point toward things not working out that way.
Lemieux and his business partner, Ron Burkle, sold the Penguins to the Fenway Sports Group in December 2021 for $900 million. While Lemieux remained a minority owner, he showed interest in re-purchasing his majority stake in the franchise from the FSG, but that’s now likely not going to come to fruition.
Will the Penguins Be Sold to the Hoffman Group and Not Back to Mario Lemieux?
While the group led by Lemieux appeared to be the presumed favorite to land the Penguins back from the Fenway Sports Group, the Chicago-based Hoffman Family, which owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, emerged as an interested buyer.
By all recent indications, it appears as though the Penguins will be sold to the Hoffman Family instead of back to Lemieux’s group.
According to a recently released report from NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, the Hoffman Family is set to pony up as much as $1.75 billion for the Penguins, which is nearly double the $900 million they were sold for in 2021.
Frank Seravalli: Re Penguins sale: Sources indicate that the Fenway Sports group is closing in on a sale to the Hoffman Family; that sale is on track to close; the expected valuation…$1.75 billion dollars – Bleacher Report (8/26)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 27, 2025
Earlier this month, the Fenway Sports Group released a statement detailing their evaluation of potential equity partners.
“Fenway Sports Group continues to evaluate potential equity partners to support the long-term growth of the Pittsburgh Penguins,” they said in a statement. “While the process remains active, there is nothing to confirm or discuss at this time.”
Meanwhile, the Hoffman Family has long been interested in the purchase of a professional sports franchise, as they explained in 2019.
“We’ve been looking to buy a professional sports team for probably three or four years,” Hoffmann told the Naples Daily News in 2019. “We got close with an NBA team, and we got close with an NHL team. I live in Naples, so I’m a resident. I went to a few Everblades games with my kids and grandkids. We got kind of jazzed up about it.
“It’s fun and it’s great long-term potential for Southwest Florida.”
The Penguins were once legitimate Stanley Cup contenders for several seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years (2016, 2017) and enjoying a 16-season postseason streak stretching from 2006–07 through to 2021–22.
Things are difficult currently, as their fortunes have experienced a downward trend in recent years and brought an end to their time as a title contender.
