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Two years later, the Aquilini group became the sole owners of the Canucks, completing a purchase of the remaining 50 per cent from McCaw. Businessmen Tom Gaglardi and Ryan Beedie sued Aquilini, claiming Aquilini broke a partnership between the three to purchase the team.

A Supreme Court of B.C. judge ruled in 2008 that Aquilini was the sole owner and that the three parties no longer had a partnership — a decision upheld in the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The Aquilini Investment Group empire owns a diverse portfolio of businesses, including real estate developments, agricultural land and golf courses, wineries and upscale restaurants. Today, the Canucks are among the most valuable franchises in the National Hockey League.

They aren’t on the same level as the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens or Toronto Maple Leafs — each valued at more than a billion dollars U.S. last year — but, according to Forbes, the Canucks were the seventh most valuable team in the league last year at $700 million US, though that’s roughly a six per cent decline from 2015, when Forbes listed the Canucks at $745 million US.

The past six years have marked an agonizing decline from Vancouver’s perch atop the NHL standings at the end of the 2011 regular season, beginning with their Stanley Cup Final loss to Boston.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

The Canucks haven’t won a playoff series since the 2011 Western Conference Final, with their last postseason appearance coming in 2015. The regression on the ice has led to a decline at the gate, with average attendance dropping from 18,710 per game in 2014-15 — the first year of the Trevor Linden, Jim Benning, Willie Desjardins era — to 18,436 in 2015-16, according to Hockey-Reference.com. Last year, attendance experienced a modest increase, moving to 18,509 fans per game at the Aquilini-owned Rogers Arena.