Owner Jeff Vinik is reportedly set to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in a sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Vinik is in the process of selling the franchise to Doug Ostrover – the co-founder and CEO of the investment firm Blue Owl Capital – for close to $2 billion. Vinik will retain operational control for the next several years and continue to have a significant stake in the franchise. Vinik is also a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox.
Sources tell Friedman that the sale is not completed yet.
In 2023, Sportico valued the Lightning at $1.25 billion — the 12th most valuable team in the NHL. The Toronto Maple Leafs sat atop the list at $2.65 billion.
This will be the largest independent sale of a team in NHL history, surpassing Michael Andlauer’s purchase of the Ottawa Senators for $950 million in September 2023. Over the summer, the Smith Entertainment Group led by Ryan and Ashley Smith purchased the Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion ($1 billion to Alex Meruelo and $200 million to the NHL) and relocated the team to Salt Lake City, Utah after Meruelo could not secure a new arena deal for the club.
Vinik first bought the Lightning for $170 million in 2010. Tampa has gone on to become one of the most successful franchises in the NHL since then, winning back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021 with head coach Jon Cooper, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, and star forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have had a 633-373-96 record since Vinik purchased the team on February 5, 2010, good for a .618 points percentage.
Before Vinnik arrived, the Lightning had one of the lowest season-ticket bases in the NHL (4,500) and flirted with bankruptcy and possible relocation under owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie. Their record from 2007 through 2010 was 89-118-39 and they missed the playoffs altogether in 2008 and 2009.
