Despite recent reports suggesting otherwise, Penguins fans shold not expect a "fire sale" at the trade deadline this season. It appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/] organization may have some minor ownership changes on the horizon. According to a report from NHL insider Kevin Weekes and ESPN analyst Emily Kaplan [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/43588770/fenway-sports-group-looks-sell-stake-penguins], Fenway Sports Group (FSG) - majority owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins - are taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to market this week to explore the sale of a minority stake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's what we know: FSG IS EXPECTED TO RETAIN A CONTROLLING INTEREST Even though FSG - the group that took controlling interest of the Penguins on Nov. 29, 2021 [https://thehockeynews.com/news/fenway-sports-group-agrees-to-purchase-of-pittsburgh-penguins] - is looking to sell a minority stake, they are expected to retain that controlling interest in the organization. FSG has done this before with some of their properties, including Liverpool of the English Premier League - when they sold a minority stake to an investment firm based out of New York (Dynasty Equity). SELLING PRIVATE EQUITY IS COMMON IN MODERN SPORTS OWNERSHIP Selling equity to private investors is becoming more and more of a common practice in professional sports because it helps majority owners and shareholders raise capital for their respective properties. When Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle owned majority share of the Penguins prior to FSG - they still hold a very minor share - they, too, attempted to add investors at different points in their ownership timeline. ANY CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP MUST BE APPROVED BY THE LEAGUE Even if FSG does end up selling to a private investor, any time an NHL franchise wants to change ownership in any way, it must be approved by the NHL's board of governors before the change or the sale becomes official. It is generally rare for the board of governers to reject ownership changes - unless you're Jim Balsillie, of course [https://thehockeynews.com/news/balsillie-wants-to-probe-nhls-rejection-of-him-as-team-owner]. THERE IS NO REAL CAUSE FOR CONCERN FSG' interest in the Penguins isn't at all expected to change, even with a minority sale. Even though Tom Werner and John Henry - co-founders of FSG - are relatively hands-off owners, they are still invested in bringing winning hockey back to Pittsburgh as soon as possible. They do not plan to become any less involved with the team. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMTYyNzc0NjIzNTk0MDE5/thnpitnews.png] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
