Marc Methot saving 1.4 million dollars.

[MrHeiskanen]

Since we are all about making it more fair, let's also change the schedule to allow Western/isolated teams to have an even travel schedule as the Eastern teams.

Spending 2x time in an airplane isn't fair for us.

 

[OppositeLocK]

Since we are all about making it more fair, let's also change the schedule to allow Western/isolated teams to have an even travel schedule as the Eastern teams.

Spending 2x time in an airplane isn't fair for us.

And there should also be a cap on how much teams can spend on marketing, and training facilities, and player development, and management and coaching staff, and analytics budgets, and how nice the arena is allowed to be, and....

 

[Legion34]

Since we are all about making it more fair, let's also change the schedule to allow Western/isolated teams to have an even travel schedule as the Eastern teams.

Spending 2x time in an airplane isn't fair for us.

sure. Then make an artificial “travel cap” where other teams have to spend a minimum amount of time In planes.

your example makes no sense because the NHL has artificially limited some teams but in a manner that lets other teams have a clear advantage that has been demonstrated

 

[Melrose Munch]

Canadian teams had better figure out why management matters. The media is a problem too.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Exactly.

Toronto fans love to cry about the tax rate, but yet that market can offer their players the best and highest sponsorship deals and opportunities out there. As a Dallas fan, should I cry that we don't have a Rogers, Canadian Tire, etc. etc. lining up to offer our players millions of dollars? So unfair!!

Should Arizona fans cry and complain that the vast majority of teams have a much larger budget for staff, facilities, scouting, development?

Should all USA teams cry that players are paid in USD, so Canadian teams players money goes further for them in the City they are living.

Should Toronto, LA, and NYR cry and complain that their daily living expenses are 5x those of Winnipeg and Columbus?

THERE WILL NEVER BE A 100% LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.

Dallas is a huge market lol.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

And there should also be a cap on how much teams can spend on marketing, and training facilities, and player development, and management and coaching staff, and analytics budgets, and how nice the arena is allowed to be, and....

True.

NHL should setup like a franchise business model where every team needs to follow corporates guidance on what is acceptable and not. This way all facilities are near equal, all staff requirements are near equal, etc.

We are finally going to get the NHL on track and making this the most even playing field for everyone!

Let's get it!

 

[OppositeLocK]

sure. Then make an artificial “travel cap” where other teams have to spend a minimum amount of time In planes.

your example makes no sense because the NHL has artificially limited some teams but in a manner that lets other teams have a clear advantage that has been demonstrated

If you really think you can equalize every little aspect of everything you're out to lunch. It's not perfect but it's good enough. This is far more preferable than having 3-4 stacked teams where everyone already knows how it all going to end.

The perfect scenario would be to have a bigger cap but only 20 or so teams. But, "grow the game" and all...

 

[Legion34]

If you really think you can equalize every little aspect of everything you're out to lunch. It's not perfect but it's good enough. This is far more preferable than having 3-4 stacked teams where everyone already knows how it all going to end.

The perfect scenario would be to have a bigger cap but only 20 or so teams. But, "grow the game" and all...

i don’t think you can. At all. That is the point. The NHL doesn’t have a weather cap or an endorsement cap or a fan cap. I don’t think it should. But IF they did. You have to make it fair.


They put in the cap. Make it fair

 

[Mickey Marner]

There is some truth to it but there is so much a player can do to limit their taxes. Allan Walsh mentions some of it here:


You can end up with a pretty low tax rate if you actually plan this stuff, something im 100% sure a player like Matthews has done. He will end up taking out a lot of that money when he retires in Arizona where there is a low tax rate and he will save tons. This isnt as black and white as some people think it is.

The NBA actually banned RCAs because they thought it gave the Raptors an unfair advantage. When you're as rich as these guys you will find the vehicles to save taxes.

 

[OppositeLocK]

i don’t think you can. At all. That is the point. The NHL doesn’t have a weather cap or an endorsement cap or a fan cap. I don’t think it should. But IF they did. You have to make it fair.


They put in the cap. Make it fair

They did make it fair. Every team can pay its roster a maximum amount.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

i don’t think you can. At all. That is the point. The NHL doesn’t have a weather cap or an endorsement cap or a fan cap. I don’t think it should. But IF they did. You have to make it fair.


They put in the cap. Make it fair

They put in the cap to limit expenses. Not as an attempt to make things exactly fair.

And for all the talk of taxes it's not as if the tax free states are constantly landing UFAs over other teams. It's all hypothetical but not playing out in the real world.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

The tax thing only became a huge argument after Dubas gave out his unprecedented dramatic overpayments. Many leaf fans couldn't accept that their gm is that bad... so they looked for other rationalizations for the overpayments. It's blown up from there.

RCA'S and the like have debunked all this tax nonsense. In fact, due to rca's, the Canadian teams have a tax advantage over "high tax" states.

Always remember, as mentioned above, that the nba BANNED rca's as being too significant of an advantage for the Raptors. In the nhl, the team itself signs players up for rca's if they want it.

 

[Elysian]

Methot didn't even play a full season of games over 2 seasons with Dallas (45gp), so I'm sure he did save a bunch of money on his taxes, but he didn't have to leave Dallas nearly as much as more regular players, it's not apples to apples.

 

[Rschmitz]

If you don’t like it, petition your politicians to change their tax code.

 

[kaiser matias]

The tax thing only became a huge argument after Dubas gave out his unprecedented dramatic overpayments. Many leaf fans couldn't accept that their gm is that bad... so they looked for other rationalizations for the overpayments. It's blown up from there.

RCA'S and the like have debunked all this tax nonsense. In fact, due to rca's, the Canadian teams have a tax advantage over "high tax" states.

Always remember, as mentioned above, that the nba BANNED rca's as being too significant of an advantage for the Raptors. In the nhl, the team itself signs players up for rca's if they want it.

I'd argue the whole arguments about tax implications started in 2016 when Stamkos re-signed with the Lightning. He was being courted by Toronto (including the infamous meeting with some business executives, like someone from Canadian Tire and so on), but re-signed with Tampa in the end, for a figure that was lower than many expected him to sign. Many commented that he only did so because of the tax breaks he got staying in Florida, and it's spiraled out from there.

 

[Legion34]

They did make it fair. Every team can pay its roster a maximum amount.

that doesn’t make something fair.

That’s like saying.

teams that make the most money get to draft first overall.
Every team gets to pick once per round and starts off with 7 picks. So that’s fair.

 

[MikeyMike01]

What artificial cap did the league institute for “parity” that Tavares was able to circumvent?

The salary cap is NOT designed to create competitive parity. It is designed to cap salary… it’s right there in the name. The goal is to have player salaries be a predictable, stable expense for the owners. To this end, it is working as intended.

In other news, if you’re mad that your locale has oppressive, unfair taxes: elect people to change that. It’s driving away much more than just NHL players. High tax states like California and New York lost population in the most recent census.

 

[OppositeLocK]

that doesn’t make something fair.

That’s like saying.

teams that make the most money get to draft first overall.
Every team gets to pick once per round and starts off with 7 picks. So that’s fair.

I don't follow... every team can spend the exact same amount of money as the max on their roster.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

The tax thing only became a huge argument after Dubas gave out his unprecedented dramatic overpayments. Many leaf fans couldn't accept that their gm is that bad... so they looked for other rationalizations for the overpayments. It's blown up from there.

RCA'S and the like have debunked all this tax nonsense. In fact, due to rca's, the Canadian teams have a tax advantage over "high tax" states.

Always remember, as mentioned above, that the nba BANNED rca's as being too significant of an advantage for the Raptors. In the nhl, the team itself signs players up for rca's if they want it.

People just think tax works in the simplest possible way and refuse to address the other factors. Rich people stay rich not by paying taxes, but the explicit skill in avoiding them.

The usual culprits complaining about taxes are typically Toronto fans. Typically, not exclusively. But its like a lot of them have a hard time understanding the premium players will charge to play in such a ruthless market. The fans and media will take a toll on a hockey player. Players will want to be compensated for that. The whole Kessel ordeal most likely turned off a lot of players who aren't from Ontario to play for Toronto.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

People just think tax works in the simplest possible way and refuse to address the other factors. Rich people stay rich not by paying taxes, but the explicit skill in avoiding them.

The usual culprits complaining about taxes are typically Toronto fans. Typically, not exclusively. But its like a lot of them have a hard time understanding the premium players will charge to play in such a ruthless market. The fans and media will take a toll on a hockey player. Players will want to be compensated for that. The whole Kessel ordeal most likely turned off a lot of players who aren't from Ontario to play for Toronto.

Here’s what bother me about that argument... for years we heard from Torontonians that nba players don’t want to be in places like Toronto. They want the limelight. Then the same people say about the leafs that nobody wants to stay here in the limelight. I think it’s just another excuse for a bad rookie gm.

 

[New User Name]

The tax thing only became a huge argument after Dubas gave out his unprecedented dramatic overpayments. Many leaf fans couldn't accept that their gm is that bad... so they looked for other rationalizations for the overpayments. It's blown up from there.

RCA'S and the like have debunked all this tax nonsense. In fact, due to rca's, the Canadian teams have a tax advantage over "high tax" states.

Always remember, as mentioned above, that the nba BANNED rca's as being too significant of an advantage for the Raptors. In the nhl, the team itself signs players up for rca's if they want it.

learn about RCA's before you spout this nonsense.

Of course the NBA banned RCA's. The majority of Raptors players live in the US and retire there.

 

[New User Name]

If you don’t like it, petition your politicians to change their tax code.

No thanks. Much prefer to live in a country that actually cares about it's citizens.

And I accept the fact that I pay more in taxes than others and care less that Canadian born players don't want to play in Canada.

 

[New User Name]

Even if a player "stays home" the RCA still offers a tax deferred option to spread some portion of career earnings over the retirement years to ultimately end up with a lower effective total tax rate.

Well, of course it does, that's a no brainer but it does not equate to significant savings compared to a player who worked and lived in certain states.

Why do you think the NBA banned them, they wouldn't have if the players lived full time in Canada.

 

[New User Name]

I'll end my participation in this thread by stating, the blame isn't on taxes. It's solely on Canadian born players who DO NOT want to play in Canada. That simple.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Here’s what bother me about that argument... for years we heard from Torontonians that nba players don’t want to be in places like Toronto. They want the limelight. Then the same people say about the leafs that nobody wants to stay here in the limelight. I think it’s just another excuse for a bad rookie gm.

Different beasts. Different athletes in my opinion. A Canadian kid born in Saskatoon or a kid born in Boston who grows up playing hockey will know what kind of beast Toronto is when it comes to the Leafs. For over a century its been insane for hockey. If you are in any shape or form a hockey fan, you are going to know what Toronto is like.

But lets say you're a kid from San Antonio, playing basketball. You wouldn't know dick about Toronto until recently. All you would think is that its cold and has a basketball team.

For Hockey, Toronto is a big market, THE big market. In the NBA, regardless of fan support, Toronto is equivalent of a lower to mid level market. It's hard to convince pro basketball players who feed off the limelight, who grew up in generally warmer climates, that coming to colder Canada (what they think), with less people in the whole country than the state of California, that it is a desirable location to be. While we know that is untrue about Toronto, the general American thinks otherwise.