American NHL teams have an advantage over Canadians

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Finnegan Frost
September 11, 2024 (5:17 PM)

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Daily Faceoff recently published an intriguing article that breaks down the massive tax advantage American teams have over their neighbours up north.

According to Daily Faceoff, It has become increasingly obvious that the teams in the U.S. states without income tax - Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming - have a marked advantage over their competition, particularly the franchises playing under heavy taxation in Canada.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart spoke to the advantages to playing in a state with no tax income and the perks that come with it:

«You're in a business, not going to be making this kind of money for the rest of my life, you try and make as much as you can,» Reinhart said. «It's things you balance. It just so happens that it's tax free in one of the better places to play. For me, certainly those are all factors that come into a decision of where you want to play.»

According to Liam McCormick from Oilers Daily, Ottawa Senators Shane Pinto who recently signed a new contract explains that he understands why players had self play due to this advantage And that the NHS needs to find a way to help level the playing field.

«They have to find a way to tweak it, honestly,» said Ottawa Senators center
Shane Pinto at the Player Media Tour Tuesday. «If you look at all these free agents, you don't blame them for going down south. It's just what it is, it's best for their families and taxes and lifestyle-wise. But they do have to find a way especially for the Canadian teams. They're just playing at a disadvantage. They've got to overpay guys to come to Canada every time. That messes up with the cap. They do have to find a way to even it out.»

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke to the concerns over the advantages in the American market:

«Having said that, obviously there's chatter out there specifically in the Canadian media that the Canadian franchises are disadvantaged,» Daly said. «We take that chatter seriously and we always look for ways to make the system better. I don't have any obvious answers to it.»

On the whole, though: while Daly acknowledged that some teams have an appetite for a change, he also doesn't think enough data has been collected to mandate one.

«We continue to be satisfied with the level of competition and we'll continue to monitor it,» Dally said. «If we can make it better we willIf we have the next 10 years similar to the last five, then maybe it's something that needs to be addressed.»

source: Daily Faceoff
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