NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers are worth an NHL-high $1.5 billion as team values continue to rise, according to the latest estimate by Forbes.

In its annual list of franchise valuations, Forbes  says the average NHL team is now worth $594 million, up 15 percent from a year ago. It comes on the heels of Bill Foley's group paying $500 million for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who come in 14th among 31 teams.

	Rank	Team	Current Value	1-Yr Value Change	Debt/Value	Revenue	Operating Income
	#1	New York Rangers	$1.5 B	20%	4%	$246 M	$94 M
	#2	Toronto Maple Leafs	$1.4 B	27%	8%	$211 M	$76 M
	#3	Montreal Canadiens	$1.25 B	12%	18%	$236 M	$92 M
	#4	Chicago Blackhawks	$1 B	8%	0%	$183 M	$48 M
	#5	Boston Bruins	$890 M	11%	0%	$176 M	$33 M
	#6	Los Angeles Kings	$750 M	25%	7%	$175 M	$32 M
	#7	Philadelphia Flyers	$740 M	3%	0%	$170 M	$26 M
	#8	Vancouver Canucks	$730 M	4%	11%	$156 M	$22 M
	#9	Detroit Red Wings	$700 M	12%	0%	$141 M	$5.4 M
	#10	Pittsburgh Penguins	$650 M	14%	18%	$196 M	$41 M
	#11	Washington Capitals	$625 M	9%	20%	$146 M	$16 M
	#12	Edmonton Oilers	$520 M	17%	19%	$151 M	$24 M
	#13	Dallas Stars	$515 M	3%	27%	$140 M	$21 M
	#14	Vegas Golden Knights	$500 M	-	42%	-	-
	#15	San Jose Sharks	$490 M	4%	10%	$137 M	$8.6 M
	#16	Anaheim Ducks	$460 M	11%	13%	$136 M	$-2.6 M
	#17	St Louis Blues	$450 M	45%	16%	$150 M	$9.2 M
	#18	Minnesota Wild	$440 M	10%	26%	$139 M	$4.8 M
	#19	Calgary Flames	$430 M	5%	7%	$129 M	$5.4 M
	#20	Ottawa Senators	$420 M	18%	29%	$135 M	$10 M
	#21	New Jersey Devils	$400 M	25%	40%	$137 M	$12 M
	#22	New York Islanders	$395 M	3%	51%	$110 M	$-8.6 M
	#23	Tampa Bay Lightning	$390 M	28%	0%	$124 M	$-1.8 M
	#24	Colorado Avalanche	$385 M	7%	0%	$113 M	$-400 K
	#25	Nashville Predators	$380 M	41%	22%	$141 M	$14 M
	#26	Winnipeg Jets	$375 M	10%	35%	$119 M	$10 M
	#27	Carolina Hurricanes	$370 M	61%	70%	$108 M	$3 M
	#28	Buffalo Sabres	$350 M	17%	23%	$120 M	$-13 M
	#29	Columbus Blue Jackets	$315 M	29%	24%	$106 M	$-5.3 M
	#30	Florida Panthers	$305 M	30%	38%	$100 M	$-11 M
	#31	Arizona Coyotes	$300 M	25%	83%	$98 M	$-19 M

The Rangers lead the NHL for the third consecutive year. After the Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs are second at $1.4 billion, the Montreal Canadiens third at $1.25 billion and the Chicago Blackhawks fourth at $1 billion.

The back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins come in 10th at $650 million. The Arizona Coyotes are last at $300 million.
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