Elliotte Friedman pours cold water on Mario Lemieux's reported interest in repurchasing Penguins, cites $1.8B franchise deal as benchmark

Elliotte Friedman has addressed the talk about Mario Lemieux buying back the Pittsburgh Penguins. On Sunday, Friedman spoke on his 32 Thoughts podcast and said the deal is not close right now. He explained that Lemieux’s group is far below Fenway Sports Group’s asking price.

"I can understand why Penguins fans would be excited about the possibility of Lemieux," Friedman said. "He's a God there, and everything he touches turns to gold. But the only thing I've heard about that so far is that they're just well below what (current owner) Fenway (Sports Group) would want to be. "The Penguin sold for around $900 million (in 2021) and the Lightning sold for around $1.8 billion. I think that's where the Penguins would want too. From what I understand, it is just not close to that at this point in time."

The Penguins sold for $900 million in 2021, and now they may want closer to $1.8 billion.

"From what I understand, it is just not close to that at this point in time." Friedman said.

In the second week of June, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Lemieux, Ron Burkle and David Morehouse were exploring a possible buyback. This same group sold the team to Fenway Sports Group three years ago.

"Hearing from sources that the group of Ron Burkle, Mario Lemieux and David Morehouse are investigating the possibility of buying back the Penguins from Fenway Sports," LeBrun wrote in a tweet. "Fenway has been looking to sell a partial share. Will be interesting to see where this goes."

At the time of sale, Lemieux stayed involved with the team in a limited role. LeBrun also said FSG had spoken with another group.

Fenway Sports Group also owns Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox. In January, FSG was reportedly exploring a minority stake sale in the team. FSG said it wanted to keep control of the franchise. The goal was to bring in a small, passive partner, not a full ownership change.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is going to stay amid rebuild

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will stay with the team, said NHL analyst Avry Lewis-McDougall. He spoke on July 30 and made it clear Crosby is not leaving. Crosby has played for the Pens since he was 18 years old. He has won three Stanley Cups with the team.

"Sidney Crosby is bleeding black and gold until the very end," Lewis-McDougal said. "Crosby is there. I don't see him leaving."

Some people think Crosby might leave as the Pens rebuild. But there is no sign this will happen. Crosby signed a two-year deal that begins this season.

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Edited by Krutik Jain