Islanders owner in talks to sell team

ByKatie Strang ESPN logo
Friday, March 28, 2014

Might owner Charles Wang be selling the New York Islanders? According to a report from TSN early Friday morning, Wang is in talks to sell a majority interest in the team.

Wang has been an owner of the beleaguered franchise since 2000. Since he assumed principal ownership in 2004, the team has made only two postseason appearances and has not won a playoff series.

The Islanders are set to move into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at the start of the 2015-16 season, when they begin a 25-year lease agreement that was brokered in 2012.

Whether a potential sale could expedite the team's move to Brooklyn remains unclear, as does the number of suitors or level of interest in acquiring the oft-maligned franchise.

The Islanders have been hemorrhaging money in recent seasons, with reports that the team loses tens of millions of dollars annually.

"In recent months, there have been numerous expressions of interest in the purchase of the New York Islanders. As I have consistently stated, I have been and remain willing to listen," Wang said in a statement Friday. "However, potential buyers' expressions of interest in the team or even my listening to them does not mean that any deal will be reached."

A spokesperson for Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov directed ESPNNewYork.com to previous statements made about the matter. In 2011, Prokhorov, through a spokesperson, said that he had "no interest in purchasing another team at this time."

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