Pittsburgh Penguins Selling the Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in talks to be sold to Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports in a deal that could be completed by the end of the week.

The change in ownership is a huge surprise and could have lasting implications on the franchise. The team has a couple of career Penguins in Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang who are pending free agents and the new ownership group could put some pressure on management to proceed in a new direction.

Fenway Sports Group will be buying the Penguins off Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle. Their group is led by John Henry and Tom Werner, who also own not only the Red Sox but also Liverpool football club.

The Penguins franchise is worth over $800 million and sits about half way up the NHL's most expensive franchises. Pittsburgh has been under the same ownership group since 1999 when the organization declared bankruptcy.

Keep an eye on the sale as it could certainly kick start a rebuild. We'll have to wait and see what the new owners have to say at the opening press conference.

Photo credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports