Friedman: Players don’t want to sign in Canada?

[Mickey Marner]

They're hardly alone. Many wealthy Canadians move to the states for similar reasons. You can live a more luxurious lifestyle in a better climate for cheaper in America.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The only right answer is pressure.

america has what, like 10 actual non casual hockey fans?

There's 12 of us, thank you very much.

 

[Benstheman]

Just like Canada is some third-world country or something. That's pretty weird. Canada is just like USA, except for the southern part. If you are a Canadian born player and you don't even consider playing in Canada, you are a spoiled kid who just thinking about cash and life besides hockey (which is supposed to be your passion). Hey why would i play for a passionate hockey fans, in my own country, if i can play for a southern USA team, go to the arena wearing sandals and make 10% more on my freaking 30M$ contract i will sign.

 

[JAS 39 Gripen]

I had a discussion on here about why Larsson left Edmonton and signed with Seattle for the same $$ that Edmonton offered.
I said it was because fans treated him like crap for the first two years he was here. Hf Oil fans said players don't read social media so that was a garbage reason.
You mean I was lied to???

There’s also the issue that his dad died when visiting Adam in Edmonton - maybe that’s also a valid reason for him not wanting to be there?....

 

[BahlDeep]

There's 0 correlation between the severity of lockdown measures & COVID cases.

All you have to do is look at the USA. Some states with minimal lockdown measures don't/didn't necessarily have more cases per capita then states with stricter measures. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is politically motivated and/or never took a statistic class.

 

[Stuzchuk]

Ummm no...federal tax rates in Canada are below and is progressive so they don't pay the max on the whole amount they make, they pay the rate on the amount for each bracket. So saying it's a flat 51% is not really right. Most places in Canada are generally not all the much more than most places in the US and in some cases less. You also get a ton of social services in Canada that you would not get in the US you can argue a pro athlete might not care about those services but I think it depends on their situation. Not having to purchase health insurance if you have a wife and a few kids is a big savings.

• 15% on the first $49,020 of taxable income, plus
  
• 20.5% on the next $49,020 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over 49,020 up to $98,040), plus
• 26% on the next $53,939 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $98,040 up to $151,978), plus
• 29% on the next $64,533 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over 151,978 up to $216,511), plus
• 33% of taxable income over $216,511

And by province of territory

Provincial and territorial tax rates (combined chart)

Provinces and territories	Rates
Newfoundland and Labrador	8.7% on the first $38,081 of taxable income, + 14.5% on the next $38,080, + 15.8% on the next $59,812, + 17.3% on the next $54,390, + 18.3% on the amount over $190,363
Prince Edward Island	9.8% on the first $31,984 of taxable income, + 13.8% on the next $31,985, + 16.7% on the amount over $63,969
Nova Scotia	8.79% on the first $29,590 of taxable income, + 14.95% on the next $29,590, + 16.67% on the next $33,820, + 17.5% on the next $57,000, + 21% on the amount over $150,000
New Brunswick	9.68% on the first $43,835 of taxable income, + 14.82% on the next $43,836, + 16.52% on the next $54,863, + 17.84% on the next $19,849, + 20.3% on the amount over $162,383
Quebec	Go to Income tax rates (Revenu Québec Web site).
Ontario	5.05% on the first $45,142 of taxable income, + 9.15% on the next $45,145, + 11.16% on the next $59,713, + 12.16% on the next $70,000, + 13.16% on the amount over $220,000
Manitoba	10.8% on the first $33,723 of taxable income, + 12.75% on the next $39,162, + 17.4% on the amount over $72,885
Saskatchewan	10.5% on the first $45,677 of taxable income, + 12.5% on the next $84,829, + 14.5% on the amount over $130,506
Alberta	10% on the first $131,220 of taxable income, + 12% on the next $26,244, + 13% on the next $52,488, + 14% on the next $104,976, + 15% on the amount over $314,928
British Columbia	5.06% on the first $42,184 of taxable income, + 7.7% on the next $42,185, + 10.5% on the next $12,497, + 12.29% on the next $20,757, + 14.7% on the next $41,860, + 16.8% on the next $62,937, + 20.5% on the amount over $222,420
Yukon	6.4% on the first $49,020 of taxable income, + 9% on the next $49,020, + 10.9% on the next $53,938, + 12.8% on the next $348,022, + 15% on the amount over $500,000
Northwest Territories	5.9% on the first $44,396 of taxable income, + 8.6% on the next $44,400, + 12.2% on the next $55,566, + 14.05% on the amount over $144,362
Nunavut	4% on the first $46,740 of taxable income, + 7% on the next $46,740, + 9% on the next $58,498, + 11.5% on the amount over $151,978

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Also people are arguing abut it here but the article I found on sportnet says ONE GM said that so take it for what it's worth.

if you look at your amounts, the max bracker is well below league minimum... and the percentage you gave makes it even worse than 51% (which I thought were all collected by the federal government than redistributed to the provinces afterwards)

 

[BahlDeep]

Lots of negativity in here. As a boring old Jersey Boy, I gotta say that I love Canada. Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec are all absolutely beautiful cities and the people up north tend to skew friendlier than average. You Canuckleheads got a good thing going on

We all love them too, just not under severe lockdown measures... which is why hockey players don't want to play here.

 

[Naslundforever]

I am a much bigger fan of hockey than the nhl, it’s not comparable. I even think that sports-tainment league is outdated. I would rather a new canadian hockey league than this nhl personally with whatever subset of athletes we can get; wont’t happen but Imagine a cap-less Canadian league! Nhl could figure out how to survive without Montreal And Toronto +++ how about one where we market no fights or hits to the head for example We don’t need that bs to sell tickets up here. Those who prefer can tune in to Nashville vs San Jose lol.

otherwise I don’t blame kids would rather beach in the sun and spend their money anonymously, even in a country that puts personal liberty and money ahead of life itself.

 

[viper0220]

They're hardly alone. Many wealthy Canadians move to the states for similar reasons. You can live a more luxurious lifestyle in a better climate for cheaper in America.

Depends on how wealthy they are.

Billionaires don't pay taxes in any country.

 

[Quinnisinoverhishead]

Why would you want to play for Canadian teams? Any rich individual (which hockey players are classified under) is better suited for the U.S.
Our health care system is a joke. The private health care system in the United States is far superior to our embarrassment of a public system.
Florida, Arizona, Texas have much lower taxes, better weather and again a greater healthcare system.
New York and California are losing their appeal under democrats. But they are still the mecca of the world.
Lastly, the pressure in Canada is heightened by 10x. If you play in New York or Anaheim, you can go to a club at night and no one will recognize you. You are more noticeable being Alex Kerfoot in Toronto than Panarin in New York.

 

[Metroid]

What a bunch of soft babies

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

As for the cities, my sister and her husband traveled to Singapore before the whole pandemic(my sister lives in Seattle, they travel alot, unlike me).

They said Singapore is miles ahead of any US city(they also went to Seoul in South Korea, Tokyo, and Macau, they said the same thing.)

Why are these cities better than US cities.

Singapore (along with the other countries you mentioned) are super ahead of the curve in terms of modern livability but especially in Singapore you have to follow the laws of the land VERY carefully. Like being loud in a public setting, littering, jaywalking, having or selling chewing gum... these are all super illegal and carry high fines and some offenses such as consuming controlled drugs are basically end game for you. They can randomly arrest and test you for drugs if they suspect it. It's a pretty serious big brother place... but super clean!

 

[viper0220]

There’s also the issue that his dad died when visiting Adam in Edmonton - maybe that’s also a valid reason for him not wanting to be there?....

Did Canada kill Adams dad on purpose? I don't get this.

 

[Bankers Box]

Lmao, you realize there was a desire for a mass exodus from US just a year ago because of the president.

Anyways, one reason why players would desire to play in Canada is that they get paid in USD.

As a Canadian living in Canada and working for a US entity that gets paid USD, it's honestly the best thing ever.

There was no mass exodus.

Almost every single “American” who migrated to Canada was in the US illegally and was looking to go anywhere in North America where they wouldn’t be deported home.

More Canadians immigrate to the US every year than Americans to Canada and the US had 10x the population!

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

RCAs act somewhat like a RRSP so yes you can defer but if you are a star and you end up with $30 million tucked in a RCA you still get taxed on withdrawal and with any large amount you are not getting it out without hitting the top marginal rate for most of your withdrawal. And again, those top marginal rates are probably only going up, so you may be worse off with deferral.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Just like Canada is some third-world country or something. That's pretty weird. Canada is just like USA, except for the southern part. If you are a Canadian born player and you don't even consider playing in Canada, you are a spoiled kid who just thinking about cash and life besides hockey (which is supposed to be your passion). Hey why would i play for a passionate hockey fans, in my own country, if i can play for a southern USA team, go to the arena wearing sandals and make 10% more on my freaking 30M$ contract i will sign.

Yes, how dare a person prioritize their life when making a huge life decision.

These players owe you nothing.

 

[BahlDeep]

There's a bigger income inequality happening in Canada then in the USA, but no one really wants to talk about this.

 

[MM425]

This is not exactly a hot take. In America, hockey is the only major North American pro sport where a star player is basically anonymous.

Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon can go about their off days in Tampa or Colorado and not be bothered at all. Jeff Petry or Jake Muzzin can't say the same thing about playing in Montreal or Toronto.

The Covid restrictions are interesting. I must admit if I was a UFA this year, this would absolutely factor in my decision. I think there's a non-zero chance Canada keeps covid restrictions in place for the long term, whereas the pandemic is decidedly "over" in the USA.

 

[Cams]

The issue for many Canadians (and Yankees in the US) though is the weather. Florida is a nice place to retire. 10 degrees F in January can't compete with 70 degrees F in Tampa. It is not very often a person moves from Florida to Winnipeg because of the heat.

Depends where though. 10F is almost unheard of for me - we are lucky if we have snow for 3 months of the year, but we have average temp of 84F from June - August here, and many long stretches of 90+, and I go to the beach where the water is in the mid 70s in the summer (and no sharks! ). I wouldn't want to spend a winter in Minnesota, or Winnipeg or Edmonton. My city has 38% of the US north of me though.....And it's funny too - I have family in SE Tennessee who would come visit here in the summer and complain about the hot/humid days.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Good thing 43% of the NHL are Canadians who really don't have a problem living in Canada. Then you got your Fins and Swedes and Russians too.
I suspect a large majority of players that have an issue with living in Canada are Americans which comprise 28% of the league.
I can live with a few Americans not wanting to live in this beautiful country.

It's mostly Canadians saying this.

 

[Benstheman]

Yes, how dare a person prioritize their life when making a huge life decision.

These players owe you nothing.

They owe us everything. Every bit of what the earn, they owe us.

 

[viper0220]

RCAs act somewhat like a RRSP so yes you can defer but if you are a star and you end up with $30 million tucked in a RCA you still get taxed on withdrawal and with any large amount you are not getting it out without hitting the top marginal rate for most of your withdrawal. And again, those top marginal rates are probably only going up, so you may be worse off with deferral.

Honestly with good account's you can get away with alot.

My uncle own a small trucking company and let's say tax wise, he is really not honest. And rich people have access to better accounts and finance personnel.

 

[Benstheman]

It's mostly Canadians saying this.

Yeah and that's a big problem.

 

[Naslundforever]

There's 0 correlation between the severity of lockdown measures & COVID cases.

All you have to do is look at the USA. Some states with minimal lockdown measures don't/didn't necessarily have more cases per capita then states with stricter measures. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is politically motivated and/or never took a statistic class.

Lol @ you. Breathing on people not the same as not breathing on people. Turn off tv, and just imagine it in your mind’s eye. Turn off hf for a sec. Close those eyes. Think of people with viruses next to each other, then farter apart… there you go.

 

[Benstheman]

Lol @ you. Breathing on people not the same as not breathing on people. Turn off tv, and just imagine it in your mind’s eye. Turn off hf for a sec. Close those eyes. Think of people with viruses next to each other, then farter apart… there you go.

Yeah. Go away with your common sense.