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Penguins rumors: Mario Lemieux-led owner group looking to buy back franchise
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- Penguins rumors: Mario Lemieux-led owner group looking to buy back franchise
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The post Penguins rumors: Mario Lemieux-led owner group looking to buy back franchise appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux is reportedly interested in purchasing the franchise back from its current owner.
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Lemieux, who played his entire NHL career for the Penguins, bought the team in 1999 and kept the franchise in Pittsburgh before selling to Fenway Sports Group in 2021. However, Lemieux might be returning as part of the team's ownership group very soon.
"Hearing from sources that the group of Ron Burkle, Mario Lemieux, and David Morehouse is investigating the possibility of buying back the Penguins from Fenway Sports," NHL insider Pierre LeBrun posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Burkle and Lemieux sold the Penguins to Fenway in 2021. Fenway has been looking to sell a partial share. Will be interesting to see where this goes…"
Lemieux's ownership group sold a controlling interest in the Penguins to FSG in late 2021 for a reported $900 million price tag. Since the sale, the Penguins, who had won two Stanley Cups over the previous six years, lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2022 and have not reached the postseason over the past three seasons. FSG also owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC, among other sports properties.
Although Sidney Crosby is revered in Pittsburgh, Lemieux is credited with saving the Penguins when the team needed him most. After being forced to retire in 1997 due to an ailing back and following cancer treatment, Lemieux, who had been owed more than $30 million by the team, bought the Penguins and kept his promise of keeping the team in Pittsburgh. Additionally, he made good on deals to pay back others the team owed money to.
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Lemieux returned to the ice in 2000 as a player-owner and continued to do so for much of the next six years until his age and a heart issue prompted his second retirement from hockey. He remained the team's owner for the next 15 years, during which time he led efforts to have a new arena built and oversaw multiple championships. In Lemieux's more than 20 years as the Penguins' owner, Pittsburgh won Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016, and 2017.
In recent years, the Penguins have struggled to properly build around Crosby, who is now in his late 30s. Pittsburgh has seen its season win total decrease each of the last three years, falling from 46 in 2021-22 to 40 in 2022-23, 38 in 2023-24, and 34 this past season.
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