Morris Belzberg (b. September 25, 1929 - d. May 2, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

born businessman, who lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since approximately 1966. He was the former owner of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the team in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Background

Belzberg was the Chairman of Budget Rent A Car Corp from approximately 1968 to 1989. In 1965, he became Budget's first franchisee in Canada, before joining Budget's Canadian operation. In 1969, he moved to Chicago. After leaving Budget in 1989, Belzberg acquired a piece of the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

. In 1991, he acquired 50 percent of the

. He sold his interest in the Penguins in 1997.

Personal

Belzberg had a winter home in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

. Belzberg's wife, Cynthia Belzberg, died on December 31, 2004.

References

1929 births 2020 deaths Canadian Jews Minnesota North Stars executives National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners Pittsburgh Penguins owners Ice hockey people from Calgary Stanley Cup champions {{canada-icehockey-bio-stub