According to Forbes, the NHL now boasts three teams valued at $1 billion or more.

Some of the team's fans may disagree, but Forbes has rated the Maple Leafs as the league's most valuable franchise for the ninth consecutive year. Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

For the ninth straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the list of most valuable franchises, with an estimated value of $1.3 billion. The New York Rangers ($1.1 billion) and Montreal Canadiens ($1 billion) also hit that mark as the magazine conducted its annual analysis of team finances.

The NHL's average team value rose 18.6 percent to $490 million, according to Forbes, which can be attributed to the monster television and broadcasting deal with Rogers Communications that begins this season. According to Forbes, the 12-year, $4.6 billion deal -- which provides Rogers the rights to all NHL games in Canada including the Stanley Cup playoffs -- is worth "2.6 times more annually than the league's previous Canadian deals."

The report states that 29 of 30 teams in the NHL saw their values rise, with the exception of the Florida Panthers, though Forbes said that the exception is because of an incorrectly reported selling price of the team. (An accurate selling price would have reflected a 19 percent rise for the Panthers.)

The three least-valuable teams are the Carolina Hurricanes ($220 million), Columbus Blue Jackets ($200 million) and Panthers ($190 million).