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Bettman on Blues sale: “the future is extraordinarily bright”

Bettman and Stillman

Today in St. Louis, the Blues held a press conference to formally announce the sale of the club to a group of local investors led by former minority owner Tom Stillman.

Also on hand was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to throw his full support behind the new ownership.

“We know the future is extraordinarily bright,” said Bettman, as per the Associated Press. “The balance sheet looks much, much better, much, much stronger.”

No surprise Bettman mentioned the balance sheet – according to Forbes’ most recent franchise valuations, the Blues had the third-highest debt/value ratio in the NHL.

The most indebted team, according to Forbes, was New Jersey, and servicing the debt has been problematic to say the least for Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek.

There are 16 major investors in the Blues, all with local ties and all, presumably, with the connections to hit up St. Louis-area businesses to sell sponsorships, season tickets and perhaps even convince additional investors to come aboard.

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