The Toronto Maple Leafs are yet again considered to be the most valuable team in the NHL according to Sportico’s annual NHL valuations.

The team is valued at $4.25 billion, making it the only team in the NHL to be valued at over $4 billion. The Leafs are also one of four teams to cross the $3 billion threshold, alongside the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins. Rounding out the top five is the Los Angeles Kings, who are just shy of crossing that threshold mentioned above.

The lowest-ranked team is the Columbus Blue Jackets at $1.3 billion, making this the second straight year that every NHL team is valued at over a billion, with the average value being $2.1 billion. Sportico also notes that the league average is up 108% over the past three years, the highest among the four major men’s professional leagues in North America.

This marks the fourth consecutive season that Sportico has ranked the Leafs first in Franchise Valuation. They were valued at $2 billion in 2021, $2.12 billion in 2022, $2.65 billion in 2023, and $3.66 billion in 2024. The dramatic bump in recent years can be attributed to the NHL getting out of the salary cap freeze stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the salary cap beginning its major jumps this past summer and not slowing down anytime soon. It also helps that there is some stability on the ownership side with Rogers now the majority owner of the parent company, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE).

Franchise valuation obviously does not translate to on-ice results because all of that capital investment has not translated into deep playoff runs for the Leafs in recent years. Sportico’s ranking only confirms that the team is the largest and most financially stable in the NHL, with a $600 million gap between them and the second-place Rangers.

While the Stanley Cup drought is nearly 60 years old and no clear sign of when it will finally come to an end, the higher-ups in the Leafs’ front office can rest easy knowing that the team is yet again first in franchise value.