There\u2019s a saying employees of the Pittsburgh Penguins have long considered an inside joke, invokable whenever something strange occurs with the nearly 60-year-old, twice-bankrupted, five-time Stanley Cup-winning NHL franchise: We\u2019re never boring.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s true even in August, normally a sleepy time on the hockey calendar. Two years ago, the Penguins began the month by trading for Erik Karlsson. A year before that, then coach Mike Sullivan signed a contract extension that he had negotiated directly with ownership. And 15 years back, captain Sidney Crosby caused a local stir when he renewed his Pennsylvania driver\u2019s license and got asked by employees to skip the line to avoid, well, making a scene.<\/p>\n
Now this August brings reports that Fenway Sports Group could sell the Penguins<\/a> to the Hoffmann Family of Companies, an investment firm based in Naples, Fla.<\/a>, following less than four years of FSG majority ownership. The group that owned the Penguins before FSG took over in Dec. 2021, co-led by team icon Mario Lemieux and multibillionaire Ron Burkle, has expressed interest in reacquiring majority control from the current ownership, reaching out through former team CEO and president David Morehouse. However, the Lemieux\/Burkle group has not made an offer.<\/p>\n So, what should Penguins fans know about their franchise\u2019s potential third ownership group this decade? Let\u2019s answer some early questions.<\/p>\n What is the Hoffmann Family of Companies?<\/p>\n According to its website<\/a>, the Hoffmann Family of Companies is \u201ca multi-vertical, family-owned company and a multi-generational family business\u201d that has acquired more than 200 brands and employs over 17,000 people in 30 countries.<\/p>\n Founded and chaired by its namesake, 73-year-old David Hoffmann, the Hoffmann Family of Companies owns businesses in agriculture (Ferguson Valley Nurseries); aviation and transportation (Global Jetcare, Dolphin Transportation Specialists); financial and professional services (Osprey Capital, Retail Dynamics Incorporated); hospitality and entertainment (Mitch\u2019s Cookies, The Java Butler, Old Corkscrew Golf Club); media (Missourian Media Group, Napa Valley Register); and real estate (Basecamp Executive Suites), among other categories.<\/p>\n The family investment firm is no stranger to sports, either. David Hoffmann attended Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State) on a football scholarship, but an injury ended his playing career and he quit school when his football coach would not approve him to play baseball. His eponymous company\u2019s inventory now includes multiple golf country clubs and water sports parks, plus the Florida Everblades \u2014 a minor-league affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.<\/p>\n How have the Everblades done under Hoffmann\u2019s ownership?<\/p>\n The Hoffmann Family of Companies purchased the ECHL\u2019s Everblades and Hertz Arena, located in Estero, Fla., from former Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Peter Karmanos Jr. in August 2019. The ECHL is a third-tier North American hockey league, below the AHL and NHL.<\/p>\n The Everblades have transformed into a minor-hockey power under Hoffmann\u2019s ownership, winning nearly two-thirds of their regular-season games (212-96-28) and capturing three straight Kelly Cup championships from 2021-22 to 2023-24. The Everblades most recently advanced to the conference finals before losing to the eventual champion Trois-Rivi\u00e8res Lions.<\/p>\n Average home attendance at Hertz Arena has topped 6,000 each of the last three seasons, including a franchise-record 6,598 in 2024-25. Capacity for hockey there is 7,181.<\/p>\n So, why do they want to buy the Penguins?<\/p>\n At the time of his purchase of the Everblades, David Hoffmann told The Naples Daily News that his family company had already been \u201clooking into\u201d buying a professional sports team for \u201cthree or four years\u201d and had even \u201cgot close\u201d with both an NBA team and an NHL team.<\/p>\n The Penguins have 15 years remaining on an arena lease and a practice facility that is used year-round by local and traveling youth teams. The Pittsburgh market sold out home games from 2007-2019, and the Penguins possess one of the great rosters of hockey legends \u2014 including Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and current stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.<\/p>\n Though attendance has waned the past two seasons, FSG\u2019s adjustment to ticket prices earlier this decade increased gate revenue, and the Penguins\u2019 local television ratings remain among the highest for any U.S.-based NHL team. FSG also owns 90 percent of SportsNet Pittsburgh, a regional sports network that broadcasts Penguins games and is managed by NESN, an FSG property.<\/p>\n The NHL is open to expanding after successfully integrating the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken within the past decade. Expansion fees could approach $2 billion per franchise, not including the cost of new arena construction and practice facilities, along with establishing a new market.<\/p>\n Hoffmann\u2019s net worth was estimated by Forbes to be $2 billion. He has made that outlet\u2019s \u201cWorld Billionaires List\u201d for the last four years.<\/p>\n Where do things stand with a potential sale?<\/p>\n The Penguins were purchased by FSG for $950 million in December 2021. FSG has since spent $30 million on arena upgrades, allowing team president and general manager Kyle Dubas to build one of the NHL\u2019s largest hockey operations staffs, and remodeling the department offices at UMPC Lemieux Sports Complex, the team\u2019s practice facility.<\/p>\n FSG began seeking minority investors for the Penguins late last summer. The bidding for a minority share was to start at $200 million, and CAA was hired to oversee the process.<\/p>\n Lemieux, who has rarely attended Penguins home games since his group\u2019s sale to FSG, has a standing offer from current ownership to be more involved with the franchise. He no longer lives in Pittsburgh full-time, though his charity, the Mario Lemieux Foundation, continues to raise millions for cancer research and neonatal care hospitals in the region.<\/p>\n The Athletic reported on interest<\/a> by the Lemieux\/Burkle group in July.<\/p>\n How did the Hoffmanns make their money?<\/p>\n Hoffmann began his journey to becoming a reported multibillionaire by creating the executive search firm DHR Global in 1989. He later sold the company, only to purchase it back from corporate owners he thought were mismanaging it, according to the Florida Business Observer.<\/p>\n