Fenway Sports Group targeted Canadian team before the Penguins.

This week we learned that the Fenway Sports Group will be moving into the hockey world when it was revealed that they are in the process of acquiring the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise. While that move has still not yet officially been completed, it does appear as though it is well underway and it seems like only a matter of time now before the Penguins are officially sold.

Interestingly enough however we are now hearing for the first time that this may not have been the groups first attempt at getting into the business of hockey. On Saturday night National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a very interesting nugget of information when he revealed that the group had previously made overtures to a Canadian franchise. In this case however the deal would not have been for an acquisition, but rather a merger of two sporting giants

"The interesting thing about this is that about 12 to 18 months ago, before Fenway Sports Group went down this road with the Penguins, an emissary was dispatched to ask the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment... if they would be interested in a merger with Fenway," said Friedman on Saturday night's NHL broadcast.

When you consider the sports properties owned by the two companies involved in this proposed merger, you can begin to see the potential for a true giant to emerge in the world of sport. Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment owns the Maple Leafs, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Raptors, and Scotiabank Arena, while the Fenway Group on the other hand owns the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club.

In fact it may have been the fact that these two groups own competing teams in the same league that proved to be one of the many complications with this potential deal.

"There's no question it would have been a massively powerful company if it had happened," said Friedman. "Now it didn't go very far, as I've been told the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Group made it clear they weren't ready for that yet."

This potential deal is obviously dead in the water with the Fenway Group purchasing the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it sounds like Friedman believes a similar move could still be possible in the not so distant future.

"I think the question about places like Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment is, maybe they weren't ready then but it doesn't mean they aren't going to be asked again, and I don't know where we're going but it sounds like we're going some pretty interesting places," said Friedman.