Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[WingsFan]

I don't know enough about Vitale maybe he can be useful?

Probably going to retire with concussion issues after getting KOed in a fight in Boston last year only played 1 game.

Ken Holland is really tired of rejection, is going after Stamkos hard. I would have to say the Wings are the betting favorite along with with Tampa (resigning) . Moving forward, it would be refreshing to see a star FA finally come to Detroit again, though not really move the needle that much. Unless a miracle happens with the backend, dumping Ericsson, Kronwall and Howard for a good defenseman.


I hope Holland learned his lesson and has a plan B, don't really need aging forwards like Backes (please no!) Lucic would be OK.

[Hannibal]

Seriously? 10 points seperated the #2 and #9 in the Eastern Conference last year. Maybe I am a bit naiive here but sure doesn't sound like a big difference there. Getting Stamakos to replace Dats would have to be worth a couple wins I would think. Maybe more.

Replace Datsyuk with Stamkos, Zetterberg gets another year older -- the Red Wings are nowhere near Stanely Cup contender status. You could just see this watching them this year. They were lucky to be in the playfofs with their crummy goal differential.

[WingsFan]

Ken Holland signs drew Miller for another year........

The Red Wings are in a spot where they need to improve the roster, not bring back old, tired faces. smh Additionally, I would have preferred this to be a salary that could end up eligible to be completely buried in the AHL, but Holland continues his (Lloyd Carr) policy of giving jobs to loyal players and friends over what's good for the team.

[Prime2]

Stamkos Sweepstakes: It's a rarity for a star of Stamkos' pedigree to hit UFA status in CAP era.

Buffalo: 7-years 11-12 million a season.
Tampa Bay: 8-years at 64 million or 8.5M a season.

We will know July 1st-ish, Florida has no State tax which is huge, Canadian teams at a severe tax disadvantage.

Canadian TAX too high for NHLers
For the first time since 1970, there will be no Canadian teams in the NHL playoffs this year. In a six-part series, Postmedia News looks into the reasons for Canadian teams’ on-ice woes, from the Canadian dollar to players’ aversion to the media fishbowl.

TORONTO — Hometown discount or highway robbery?

Or maybe, when discussing what it would take for the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign Steven Stamkos this summer, it is a bit of both.

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain, who is a pending free agent, reportedly walked away from an eight-year contract offer worth $8.5-million (all figures in U.S. dollars) annually. Some called it a lowball offer. But even if the Leafs up the ante and offer the Markham, Ont., native an annual salary of $10-million, he would still be leaving money on the table.

That is because only Tampa Bay can offer Stamkos a term of eight years to re-sign (he would be maxed at seven years to sign elsewhere). And while Florida has no state income tax, Ontario residents who earn more than $220,000 are subject to a combined 53.53 per cent federal/provincial tax.

Both could be significant factors in deciding where he plays next season.

According to sports tax guru Robert Raiola, even if Stamkos is paid $10-million per year, he would actually take home less annually by playing in Toronto ($4.3-million after taxes and agent fees) than he would in Tampa Bay for only $8.5-million ($4.6-million).

“In order for Stamkos to go to Canada, they would have to pay him a lot more money than what he would have gotten to stay in Tampa Bay,” said Raiola, a senior manager at O’Connor Davies LLP in the Northeast, who has professional sports clients throughout the country. “Do I think it factors into free agency? Absolutely. I think in any sport where you have a cap, the teams that don’t have a state tax have a huge advantage”

It does not get any easier if Stamkos were to sign in Montreal, where the combined statutory marginal income tax rate is 53.31 per cent, or Winnipeg (50.4 per cent), Calgary or Edmonton (48 per cent) or Vancouver (47.7 per cent). In fact, Ontario and Quebec have a higher tax rate than any state in the U.S., while Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. also rank among the top-10 of states/provinces with an NHL team.

It is just one of the many reasons why Canadian teams not only have a harder time attracting top-end free agents, but also signing them at market value.

“Our higher tax rates erect roadblocks,” said Charles Lammam, director fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Canada’s Rising Personal Tax Rates and Falling Tax Competitiveness. “States with lower tax rates tend to sign more skilled players. We cannot ignore the effect of the tax system. When you look at Canada and hockey, in particular, teams in Ontario are at a disadvantage, especially when you look at Ontario’s statutory rate. It’s among the highest in the world and certainly higher than most U.S. states.”

Prior to the installation of the salary cap in 2005-06, most Canadian teams held a distinct advantage over smaller-market teams in the U.S. by being able to spend an unlimited amount of money on free agents.

Now, you have to manage the cap. Each dollar counts — meaning if the Leafs have to pay $2 million above market value to sign Stamkos, then that is $2 million less that the team has to find him a winger. The sagging Canadian dollar, which is trading at around 77 cents to the U.S. dollar, only adds to the challenges since players are paid in U.S. dollars.

“We’re the big fish but somebody stole our pond,” said Henry Mintzberg, a professor in McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, who has looked at how Canadians have lost control of the game. “It’s a little hard to believe.”

“I always tell everyone that the general managers of today have a lot more difficult job than the timeframe when I was a general manager,” said former Leafs and Flames GM Cliff Fletcher. “Everyone who runs pro sports franchises makes mistakes. Back in my era and the era of my counterparts, if you make mistakes, you would have the opportunity to fix that mistake by doing something else.

“Unfortunately, under the cap system, you’re restricted about the money you can spend. And if you make a bad decision or a couple of bad decisions, it could set you back for years because your ability to recover from them is almost non-existent.”

If the warm weather was not already enticing enough, players in Florida (Lightning and Panthers), Texas (Stars) and Tennessee (Predators) do not have to pay a state income tax. It is a situation that is also favourable for general managers in those cities, who are able to fill out a roster at a fraction of the cost of their Canadian competitors.

It is how Tampa Bay was able to sign Ryan Callahan to a six-year deal worth $38.5-million — less than what he was reportedly asking for from the New York Rangers, where the state income tax is 8.82 per cent.

“If you’re struggling to get a deal done, you might throw that in there,” Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon said of the tax break. “You use every tool you have available. It’s a nice perk. It’s not the primary focus, but I guess if it came down to two teams and the same money, it could make a huge difference.”

Then again, because players are paid in U.S. dollars regardless of where they are playing, the exchange rate could erase that incentive. But it does not work that way for ownership. The cost of doing business in Canada is more expensive than it is south of the border.

Of the top-10 spending teams in the NHL this season, nine come from the United States. The lowest spender is Winnipeg at $59.29-million, with only Vancouver ($72.97-million), Montreal ($70.85-million) and Toronto (70.69-million) spending near the $71.4-million cap.

“The system we have is designed to enable all clubs to be in a position to afford to be competitive,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “I know it seems to be the sport of the day to say that it’s some major problem, but the Canadian dollar has always been fluctuating vis-?-vis the American dollar. And it’s something we deal with. Fortunately, the (salary cap) system we have in place accounts for it.”

Do some free agents avoid Canada because of high taxes? Not exactly. Stamkos’s agent Don Meehan said it might be a factor, but it is not more important than other factors such as the competitive level of the team, the role a player is being asked to fill and the overall stability of the franchise.

When Zach Parise was deciding whether to re-sign in New Jersey or accept an offer from Minnesota in 2012, he spent three days in Meehan’s office looking at everything from ownership and management to the quality of the prospects in the organization. Eventually he and Ryan Suter signed matching 13-year contracts with the Wild, even though Minnesota’s statutory marginal income tax rate is 49.5 per cent — second-highest amongst U.S. states.

In other words, players who are signing long-term deals consider just about everything, not just how much money they will pocket.

“People assume or expect that players make decisions simply on the basis of monetary considerations, whether that be the difference of the dollar or taxes,” said Meehan. “And they don’t. It’s only one of the considerations that go into a lengthy process of where they want to be.”

“It’s a bonus, not a determining factor,” said player agent Ritch Winter, whose clients include Chicago’s Marian Hossa and Nashville’s Cody Hodgson. “A guy might sign in Dallas and afterwards say, ‘Oh, and they don’t have state taxes?’ On decision day, no one’s saying ‘what’s the taxes in Illinois and Alberta again?’ ”

[Mike]

Sounds like for players and agents, taxes don't play a major role in their decision.

[drok]

I imagine agents' percentages are based on value of contract, not after tax value, right?

[Mike]

I suppose so. Read it as "according to agents, taxes don't play a major role in players' decisions."

[Prime2]

Of course it does, always follow the money. Explains CDN domiciled Cup drought.

Stamkos, city by city Tax implications.

[iam416]

Holy shit. I can't imagine paying $37M of $70M in taxes. Goodness. Or, in my terms, $3700 of $7000 in taxes.

[Mike]

Shouldn't the federal tax be the same in all the American cities?

[Hannibal]

Shouldn't the federal tax be the same in all the American cities?

Weird deduction rules? You would think so otherwise.

[WingsFan]

Not noted there is the NHL-NHLPA escrow withholding percentage and agent fees. They will be standard in any market. To help with the tax implications from one of the other 22 markets not listed, a league-wide NHL average has been presented. Bidding will likely need to begin at $11.5 million annually over seven years to gain a financial edge elsewhere outside Tampa.

[WingsFan]

Leafs met with Steven Stamkos at MLSE headquarters Tuesday. present: Toronto Mayor John Tory and CEO of Canadian Tire. Seems like circumventing the cap? Personal endorsements should be separate from team, still.. Little Ceasars is a way better endorsement, free pizza for life.

[WingsFan]

Ken Holland is loser again. Stamkos staying with Tampa, no surprise there.

Stevie Y playing it cool

[Prime2]

Stamkos did the math, made sense. When your team gets to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final without you.....deep team.


Other News, HUGE trades, all in 1 hour.

Toews Tweets he is glad Weber has left the Blackhawks Divison. LOL

Well then.

This was no news dump; a vortex of activity hit the NHL offices Wednesday afternoon. Three of the NHL's biggest stars in P.K. Subban, Taylor Hall, and Shea Weber were dealt, and the highest-profile impending unrestricted free agent of the post lockout era, Steven Stamkos, forewent the exceedingly rare opportunity to hit the open market. All in less than an hour.

Here's what it means to the five teams directly involved.

Montreal deals P.K. Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber

Marc Bergevin disclosed his antiquated process in trading Subban - one of the greatest players and personalities in today's game. This is a player who offered something undeniably unique to hockey in Montreal, both on and off the ice. He made a city and team better.

Undeniably, Bergevin's impetus runs deeper than what we're privy to. He's sided with a coach, clique, or something in the organization adverse to his former rock star defender, because despite this deal involving effective, big-money blue-liners with hefty term, it doesn't add up. Subban is beginning his prime seasons, and will be a team-friendly 33 years old when his $72-million contract expires in 2022. Weber will be 31 - with a decade remaining on his deal - before ever making his Habs debut.

But, it would be remiss not to credit David Poile. Nashville's GM has dealt Weber, as well as Seth Jones (in a pair of hockey deals), over the last few months, and has maintained what might be the most contemporary top-four unit in the NHL with Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis.

Edmonton deals Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson

Peter Chiarelli's quest for a No.1 defenseman remains incomplete, but his process, now for the first time, has now come at the expense of something significant.

Taylor Hall isn't without imperfections; there's a reason that he isn't lionized quite on the same level as the game's greats. But the fact of the matter is, he produces at the very highest percentile. His 2.49 even-strength points per 60 minutes over the last four season trails Sidney Crosby, Jamie Benn, and the 45 games of Connor McDavid.

Essentially, Hall's value is on par with a No. 1 defenseman for which Adam Larsson is not. Rather, Larsson is a project, and a 23-year-old who - once polished - could turn into a legitimate top-pair defender on a good team. But like many defenders who have washed up in Edmonton in recent seasons, he'll immediately be sent in over his head.

It's a high price to pay for potential, and potentially stunted growth.

Stamkos decides to stay in Tampa Bay

Steve Yzerman will beat you in a game of chicken.

After months of speculation, dissecting the psychology of "liked" tweets, and teams moving mountains to create cap room, Steven Stamkos will not be an unrestricted free agent, though he was courted like one.

With teams now permitted to speak to free agents before July 1, Stamkos did have the opportunity to truly explore other pastures, but ultimately decided, and with days to spare, that the offer Steve Yzerman left on the table weeks ago was the best one for him.

With that decision, Stamkos will go on to net a truck-load of lightly-taxed dollars, while his GM's legend grows.