Mario Lemieux has been the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins since 1999. (USATSI)
Mario Lemieux hasa been the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins since 1999. (USATSI)

Pittsburgh Penguins owners Mario Lemieux and billionaire Ron Burkle have been exploring a possible sale of the team since June. But other than a report about them potentially seeking a $750 million price tag for the team, things have been quiet on the progress being made (or not being made).

That changed on Thursday.

That is when a report from the New York Post surfaced that said Lemieux is "mad" at his co-owner for "messing up" the sale of the team. According to the report, the two owners had different asking prices for the team, with Burkle recently turning away an offer that Lemieux wanted to accept. Because of all of that, the sale is now off according to the report.

It did not take long for the Penguins to issue a response, denying all of it.

Here is the Penguins' statement, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Contrary to a media report regarding the potential sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there is no disagreement between us and we remain completely aligned in both approach and philosophy. We continue to explore all of our strategic options, including a possible sale. There is not, and has never been, an established price for the team, and we are still in conversations with potential buyers. It is unfortunate that we even have to respond to a story based on anonymous quotes."

With that statement, the only two times we've heard from the Penguins owners this season were to respond to rumors involving rifts between ownership and the team's best player (Sidney Crosby), and now their two owners. 

It's likely both were unfounded, especially since the source for Thursday's report is the same one that had the Arizona Coyotes moving to Las Vegas in 2015 under a new owner (s/t Sean Leahy for pointing that one out). 

Lemieux, a Hall of Fame player with the team, has owned the team since 1999 when he saved it from bankruptcy.