More losses. Another year out of the playoffs. The sellout streak ending. It all seems to have caught up to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are no longer the world’s most valuable hockey team.

The New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens have both eclipsed the Leafs as more valuable franchises in Forbes’ review of the 30 teams in the NHL, the richest hockey league on the planet.

Forbes said the Rangers are now the most valuable team at $1.2 billion (all figures U.S.). The Canadiens are second at $1.18 billion.

The Leafs had been top dog since 2005, but dropped to No. 3 in the valuation at $1.15 billion, a 12 per cent decline over last year.

“The perception is the Leafs have slipped,” said Richard Powers, senior lecturer at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. “It demonstrates the Maple Leafs have some work to do, not just on the ice, but with their brand.”

The Maple Leafs declined comment on the Forbes findings. The NHL has long dismissed Forbes’ valuations, saying they don’t properly reflect the actual bottom line.

Richard Peddie, former chief executive officer of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, said he believes the Rangers advanced on the strength of the U.S. dollar and a recent $1 billion investment by the corporation that owns them in refurbishing Madison Square Garden.

“Montreal, I don’t believe (the ranking) for a second,” said Peddie, who believes the Leafs will be back at No. 1 in time, “with an improved team and a new CEO that worries about increasing the bottom line.”

Michael Friisdahl, formerly of Air Canada’s Leisure Group, takes over from Tim Leiweke as CEO of MLSE in December.

Forbes draws its numbers from what is known about team revenues in items such as ticket sales, broadcasting rights and league revenue sharing, as well as expenses in matters such as player salaries and arena leases.

A source within the Leafs said the team’s valuation is hurt because of a lack of playoff dates that would generate between $1 million and $2 million per home date. The Leafs have had precisely three home playoff dates — all in 2013 — since the 2003-04 season.

“This two-spot drop in the rankings is driven by several factors including: the Maple Leafs have only been in the playoffs once since 2006, and the team’s 13-year sellout streak at the Air Canada Centre was broken last March,” Forbes wrote.

The Leafs, embarking on a massive rebuild, hired GM Lou Lamoriello — the architect of three Stanley Cup champions in New Jersey — and head coach Mike Babcock — a Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion — to lay the foundation of a new on-ice culture.

They are not likely to make the playoffs this season, but will be expected to show improvement by next year, the team’s centennial season, Toronto is sure to host an outdoor game and possibly the draft or the All-Star Game.

“I would say the brand is still an iconic brand, but complacency is the enemy,” Powers said. “The Leafs can’t be complacent. Last year, they ended their streak of consecutive sellouts. This year, they drop to No. 3. Complacency is always an issue. You can never stop working on that brand.”

The Rangers’ value rose nine per cent, said Forbes, aided a great deal by a favourable television contract from MSG Network that pays them $130 million a year, up from $81 million last year.

While most Canadian teams, the Leafs included, saw their valuation hurt by a declining Canadian dollar, Montreal bucked that trend. The Canadiens’ value rose 18 per cent.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“Although Montreal is a much smaller market than Toronto, the Canadiens’ television audience is often 20 per cent greater than the Leafs, when you include both the English and French language channels,” Forbes wrote.

The Rangers and Canadiens are playoff regulars, with Montreal missing the playoffs just once in the last seven years and New York missing just once in the last 10 and making it to the Stanley Cup final in 2014. Their ticket sales are improving as a result. The Rangers took in more than $95 million from premium seating and advertising at MSG last season, tops in the NHL, said Forbes.

The average NHL team is now worth $505 million, which is a three per cent increase from 2014, Forbes said.