Maple Leafs top Forbes list of NHL team values

One year after being appraised as the NHL's first billion-dollar franchise, the Toronto Maple have once again been evaluated as the most valuable organization in the league, according to Forbes. The Maple Leafs are worth $1.15 billion according to the projection, which focuses on cash in and cash out categories.

The New York Rangers are projected as the second most valuable franchise at $850 million, followed by the Montreal Canadiens ($775 million), Vancouver Canucks ($700 million) and Chicago Blackhawks ($625 million). In addition, Forbes is reporting that the Maple Leafs ($120), Canadiens ($99), Winnipeg Jets ($95), Canucks ($90) and Edmonton Oilers ($79) had the five highest average ticket prices. The Maple Leafs ($2.2 million), Canadiens ($2.1 million), Canucks ($1.8 million), Rangers ($1.8 million), Calgary Flames ($1.6 million) and Oilers ($1.6 million) had the highest gate receipts-per-game last season. This is of consequence because NHL teams get to keep 100 percent of those profits.

The Forbes valuations are determined based upon the following criteria:

Our data comes primarily from sports bankers, public documents (municipal arena leases and financial reports), consultants who provide research and conduct studies for cities on the economic impact of an NHL team, arena naming rights and arena financing, credit rating agencies, player agents, network and cable executives, arena operators and, in a few cases, the teams themselves. Our revenue figures include proceeds from non-NHL events that go to the team owner, such as concerts, and subtract arena-generated funds that are used to pay arena debt.

With that in mind, here's a complete look at their valuations:

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