David Hoffmann didn\u2019t do the bulk of the speaking on Thursday.<\/p>\n
But he spoke the loudest.<\/p>\n
In a press conference at PPG Paints Arena to introduce the Hoffmann Family of Companies as the new primary owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, David Hoffmann spoke plainly about his intentions with the nearly 60-year-old franchise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will win in Pittsburgh,\u201d he boasted. \u201cWe\u2019re committed to winning. Whatever it takes, we give the resources, we give the autonomy, we put the right people in place to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
His son, Geoff Hoffmann, handled the bulk of questions during a press conference in the Lexus Club, which has a captivating view of downtown Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Geoff Hoffmann addressed the Penguins\u2019 place in Pittsburgh and their history, which includes a pair of bankruptcies, speculation of relocation and an arduous political battle to secure a new arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a storied franchise in a lot of different ways,\u201d Geoff Hoffmann said. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly been some ups and downs, I think, on the business side of the organization. I\u2019m here to tell you that has come to an end. We are long-term thinkers. This is not an investment for us as you think of a financial investment. This is a commitment to a city, it\u2019s a commitment to an organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Penguins are going to be in Pittsburgh and always be in Pittsburgh as long as the Hoffmanns are part of it. The Hoffmanns plan to be part of this for generations to come. We are really well positioned, not only to continue the trajectory that the organization is on currently but to make the investments that are required to remain competitive. And to create an incredibly special fan experience, which is something that we\u2019re focused on too. We want this to be great for the community of Pittsburgh and for all of our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geoff Hoffmann will serve as the club\u2019s governor while brother Greg, David and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas will serve as alternate governors.<\/p>\n
The Hoffmanns have roots in the Midwest, with David Hoffmann growing up in Missouri. He founded DHR Global, an executive search firm, in 1989 and from that business grew the Hoffmann Family of Companies (typically referred to as HF Companies), a private equity firm that has interests in a variety of fields ranging from aviation to media to wineries and to sports franchises.<\/p>\n
HF Companies already owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and turned that franchise into that league\u2019s model franchise. Earlier this month, the Everblades won the ECHL\u2019s Kelly Cup for the fourth time in the past five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a culture that we created, a culture of winning,\u201d David Hoffmann said. \u201cOur coach at the Everblades (Brad Ralph) is the winningest coach in the history of the ECHL. We\u2019ve won four out of five years, the Kelly Cup. \u2026 And we plan to do the same thing here. This is going to be wonderful. We\u2019re going to give Kyle all the resources that he needs or whatever he needs to bring the Stanley Cup back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hoffmanns plan on doing a lot here in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand what the Penguins and what sports teams in general \u2014 but I think especially in a city like Pittsburgh \u2014 what the Penguins mean to the city,\u201d said Geoff Hoffmann, who indicated he is in the process of purchasing a home in Squirrel Hill. \u201cAnd it\u2019s more than just what happens on the ice. It\u2019s bringing in the members of the community, it\u2019s supporting the community, it\u2019s taking a vested interest in participating philanthropically, participating in community events and creating an atmosphere where everyone is welcome and wants to be here. And that takes presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you\u2019ll be seeing us in Pittsburgh regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Hoffmann didn\u2019t do the bulk of the speaking on Thursday. But he spoke the loudest. In a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-760065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}