- PWHL says there is “absolutely no expected change” to league ownership
- Mark Walter sold the Lakers and is shopping his Chelsea FC stake while under federal investigation
- Read below for what the Ilitch and Tanenbaum money means for a 12-team league
The PWHL is not for sale.
That is the message the league sent Tuesday after a week of speculation about owner Mark Walter, who has been unloading sports properties fast while facing a federal investigation. A league spokesperson told Daily Faceoff there is “absolutely no expected change to ownership of PWHL.”
Here is Ian Kennedy with the confirmation Tuesday afternoon:
Fans had reason to be jumpy. Walter agreed this month to sell his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $12.5 billion valuation, about a year after buying the team from the Buss family at a $10 billion price. He is also in talks to move his shares in Chelsea FC.
All of that is playing out while federal investigators dig into undisclosed related-party loans tied to insurance companies Walter owns. Delaware Life Insurance Company and affiliate Clear Spring Life and Annuity each got grand jury subpoenas in February.
Hockey fans did the math and got nervous. Kennedy raised the question hours before the league answered it:
Mark and Kimbra Walter bankrolled the whole thing alone from the 2023 launch through last season. The championship trophy is named after them. Pulling that money out with the league at its biggest size ever would have left a hole nobody else was lined up to fill.
There is more cash in the building now, though. Ilitch Companies and Kimber Sports Ventures joined as investors in June, the first outside money in PWHL history. Reports put the combined investment north of $100 million.
Those are not small names in hockey. Christopher Ilitch owns the Red Wings. Larry Tanenbaum chairs Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Day-to-day control still sits with the Walters and the PWHL Advisory Board.
Growth is what makes the question urgent. Six teams launched in 2024, Vancouver and Seattle came next, and Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose push the count to 12 for 2026-27. That is a doubled league in three years, and it has been the most interesting lab in the sport while it happened, right down to the jailbreak goal rule the NHL should steal.
Twelve teams will open camp under the same ownership group they had in June.
