Howard Baldwin

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Howard Baldwin is an American entrepreneur and film producer. He is the CEO of Baldwin Entertainment, which has produced films such as the Academy Award-nominated Ray and operates the Iowa Stars AHL ice hockey team. Baldwin founded the New England Whalers ice hockey franchise in the WHA and has also owned part of the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins NHL franchises. He won the Stanley Cup in 1992 with Pittsburgh.

Baldwin's specialty was buying franchises with very little of his own money invested. For example, his actual cash investment in the Penguins was just $1,000. The rest was assumed debt and capital provided by other partners. His purchase of the Penguins was bankrolled largely by Morris Belzberg. When Belzberg left the group, Baldwin recruited Roger Marino, a Boston investor. By that time, the Penguins were struggling financially and wound up declaring bankruptcy in 1996.

The WHA's coach of the year award was originally named the Howard Baldwin Trophy in his honor. Recently the Baldwin Entertainment Group has moved to offices in Connecticut while attempting to regroup its finances.