Penguins President & CEO David Morehouse on Thursday, just ahead of the club beginning its 50th season, said that the "team is no longer for sale," according to Jonathan Bombulie of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Morehouse appeared on KDKA-AM's morning show and said, "We did look at a bunch of different things. One of them included the outright sale of the franchise. We're not looking at that right now. We couldn't be luckier to have owners like this in Pittsburgh." Bombulie notes Morehouse "did not rule out" the idea that co-Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle still "might be looking to add minority investors." Morehouse's comments were "in line with those made by key figures toward the end of last season." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on May 30 said that the "prospective sale was no longer a front-burner issue." Vanderbilt professor John Vrooman said, "If the Pens are worth an estimated $600 million, then normally the selling price could go as high as ($750M) for the defending Stanley Cup champions. If no potential NHL buyers were taking the Pens' bait at $750 million, then the Penguins are obviously overvalued by the owners and undervalued by potential investors." Vrooman said that NHL expansion also could have "made market conditions more difficult for a potential sale" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 10/14).
