NHL fans claim teams have unfair advantage based on recent Cup Finals
Photo credit: USA Today
Success for hockey teams is now so closely linked to managing money under the salary cap, which is leading fans to think that some teams have a bit of an advantage.
Looking at the last 8 years of Cup Finalists, 9 teams were all teams that had no state income tax.
Many fans are arguing that teams with no income tax have a significant advantage over teams that do, because they're more appealing to players and deals can be signed for cheaper. For a team like the Edmonton Oilers or Toronto Maple Leafs, players would be paying significantly more in taxes.
We here at OilersDaily are not tax experts, but there are clearly workarounds for teams in high tax markets to not overpay their players. Players commanding a higher salary would just be asking for more money to be taxed, and there are workarounds for things like signing bonuses that agents can finesse from taxing. Currently, Maple Leafs center John Tavares is in a battle with the CRA over a tax dispute.
Still, this is something the NHL should investigate for the interest of the salary cap creating parity across the league. If teams are in a positive financial situation in their markets that translates into success on the ice, that's a significant advantage which should be addressed and fixed. Perhaps, teams with higher income tax areas could operate with a relatively higher salary cap compared to non-tax states.
With fans and media across the NHL becoming more aware of this trend of success in no-tax states, perhaps this is something addressed by the NHL in the upcoming CBA, scheduled for renewal after the 2025-26 season.
| POLL | ||
2 JUIN | 188 ANSWERS NHL fans claim teams have unfair advantage based on recent Cup Finals Do you think teams with no state taxes have an unfair advantage? | ||
| Yes, it's definitely an advantage | 167 | 88.8 % |
| No, it's nothing | 15 | 8 % |
| See Results | 6 | 3.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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