The last time the Penguins were for sale, in 2006, potential buyers had serious concerns. Would the team get a new arena? Would there be lasting labor peace between the NHL and its players?

The Penguins have sold out 377 consecutive games at Consol Energy Center, and a collective bargaining agreement that is friendly to small-market teams is in effect until 2022, so those issues have been settled. But that doesn't mean investors putting in a bid to buy the Penguins have nothing to worry about.

There's one word that strikes fear into players, hockey executives and prospective buyers alike: concussions.

Specifically, the damages the NHL and its teams could be on the hook for as a result of lawsuits alleging the league knew, or should have known, about the long-term effects of concussions and kept that information from players.

“It's hard to tell what the upper limit of the liability might be,” West Virginia University sports economist Brad Humphreys said. “It could be substantial.”

Since November 2013, no fewer than nine groups of players have filed concussion-related lawsuits.

The league also faces lawsuits from the families of former Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard, who died of a drug overdose in 2011, and former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Steve Montador, who was diagnosed with concussion-related brain injuries after his death in February.

Faced with similar concussion litigation, the NFL agreed to a settlement with former players worth about $1 billion.

The NHL also likely is headed toward a settlement, said Joseph Hanna, a Buffalo lawyer from the firm of Goldberg Segalla who edits a sports and entertainment law blog.

“Do you really want to fight these people in court and take part in a long, drawn-out battle against your former players?” Hanna said.

The settlement isn't likely to be as large as the one the NFL and its owners are facing. Because of NHL rosters being smaller and because NHL players don't face the every-play violent pounding many of their NFL counterparts do, Hanna said, the numbers don't add up.

“Is there something to the hockey concussion litigation? Of course there is,” Hanna said. “It's not a billion-dollar lawsuit, though.”

Experts agree that fear of concussion litigation probably wouldn't be enough to dissuade a serious buyer from making a bid for the Penguins.

In 2013, while the NFL settlement was being negotiated, the Buffalo Bills were for sale. Jonathan Altman, a lawyer for the Downtown firm of Sherrard, German & Kelly, represented buyer Terry Pegula in the sale process.

Altman said Joseph Leccese, attorney for Ralph Wilson's estate, made a detailed presentation to soothe the concussion-related concerns of potential buyers.

There's no reason to think Penguins representatives couldn't do the same.

“If you're buying the Pittsburgh Penguins, you have some cash. You're not a guy who's going to Wal-Mart to buy a TV. You have some money,” Hanna said. “Is it enough to shock and awe and prevent you from buying the team? No. But it should be on your radar. (Lawsuits are) out there. They're going to be out there. People spill coffee on themselves and they want to bring a lawsuit, let alone having a reasonable case.”

Humphreys said prospective buyers might be better off taking a long look at the future of TV money than fearing a concussion settlement.

“I'd be more worried about declining future media rights revenues because of whatever might come from cord-cutting on the consumer side,” he said.

Stephen Ross, director of the Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy and Research, cited a series of concerns more troubling than concussion liability — from the impact of having a new owner less popular with the public than Mario Lemieux to the effects of Sidney Crosby getting older, not to mention the routine hiring of coaches and drafting of players.

“When you throw in all those factors, it seems to me the insurable risk of concussion litigation ought to be low down on the list,” Ross said. “One thing you won't find Lloyd's of London being able to do is insure against the fact that you made a bad coaching hire. That's just a risk on the owner.”

Jonathan Bombulie is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.

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