PITTSBURGH — Eight years ago, the only smoke surrounding the Penguins came from victory cigars and Stanley Cup parades. Little different these days.

While on-ice news has been eerily quiet, conversation has shifted from their rebuilding timeline to this:

The Penguins are for sale, right?

It's also impossible to ignore potential ramifications, from fan sentiment and winning to how it could impact franchise icons such as Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby.

Short version 1.0: Don't love it.

Short version 2.0: The word "conglomerate" is dumb and annoying.

The latest news includes interest from the Hoffmann Family of Companies, a Chicago-based (deep breath) ... conglomerate touting upwards of 200 businesses across 30 countries, efforts that range anywhere from coffee to aviation.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Monday the Hoffmann family — which owns the ECHL's Florida Everblades — has emerged as a "serious contender" to purchase the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group.

Furthermore, while declining to say whether interest has shifted from selling a minority share to full control of the team, FSG issued a statement Monday saying it "continues to evaluate potential equity partners to support the long-term growth of the Pittsburgh Penguins" and that "while the process remains active, there is nothing to confirm or discuss at this time."

In my best Bill Lumbergh voice ... yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with that last part. There's a lot to discuss at this time.

Like the fact that FSG, for whatever reason, can't just say something simple like, "No, the Penguins aren't for sale. We bought the team for a reason. We believe in what we're doing and look forward to putting a competitive product on the ice as soon as possible."

It's also obvious why they'll never do that: Would you stop someone from grossly overpaying? Of course not.

The end result, though, is frustrating.

And I'm not sure it would improve with another conglomerate. Another ownership group doing a thousand different things. One new to the NHL. A playground of rich people who mostly consider this a portfolio piece.

It never felt like that with Lemieux. Despite his ridiculous wealth, it never felt that way with Burkle, whose way of operating always cracked me up.

The questions Burkle asked didn't involve money or bottom-line impact. Whether it was adding Marian Hossa, spending to the cap or how players and staff were treated, it was always this: Does it help us win?

I'm also not saying FSG has shirked those responsibilities. It has continued to spend and pays more day-to-day attention to the club than most people probably realize.

But for myriad reasons, principally the lack of on-ice success, the feel around the team and fan confidence in ownership has changed.

What will that mean when we're two shades removed from the most popular player and most successful ownership group in franchise history? Sure feels like we could find out soon.

Secondarily, I don't see how this makes sense for Burkle and Lemieux, who back in June began exploring a re-purchase of the team. The math doesn't work.

Forbes most recently valued the Penguins at $1.75 billion, and that's what the Hoffmann group is reportedly prepared to pay for the team. Given how David Hoffman and his family have grown a small army of businesses over the years, this would seemingly represent an ascent to an asset (a professional sports franchise) where valuations continue to soar.

But for Burkle and Lemieux, who sold a vastly different product in a vastly different sports economy for a little over $900 million, do we really see them paying nearly twice that to re-purchase a rebuilding team that appears to be in a precarious spot when it comes to fan interest?

I don't.

Franchise values across sports continue to increase. In the NHL, it's driven by looming expansion and a $2 billion buy-in. Meanwhile, regional sports network (RSN) revenue has taken a hit, and the league won't see an uptick in national TV dollars until after the current deal expires in 2028.

Those things probably don't matter to the Hoffmans, who've accrued wealth in other ways. But it complicates trying to square this financially for Burkle and Lemieux.

The two more likely scenarios, at least in my opinion, involve a Hoffmann purchase or FSG finally and authoritatively saying the Penguins aren't for sale, though I'm certainly not holding my breath on the latter.

It's all kind of sad, honestly.

Maybe the Hoffmann group buys the Penguins and they're miraculously competitive again quickly. That would be great. Ditto for FSG sticking this out, executing the rebuild and following through on the talk we've heard about dedication and belief in the market.

As much fun as any of that might be, I've also found myself considering the other side.

What if FSG sells and things go horribly wrong?

If there's no chance of winning, would Sidney Crosby do the unthinkable and ask for a trade? I hope not. I think not.

But given how much sports ownership has changed, with familial or personal ties to a city or team becoming increasingly rare, it makes me miss how things used to be with the Penguins.

It makes me miss the smoke.

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