Gary Bettman Lies to NHL Fans After Stating That Tax-Free States Have No Advantage With NHL Free Agents
Gary Bettman has made plenty of good and bad decisions as Commissioner, and now, he's defending the advantage that tax-free state teams have over other teams.
Since becoming Commissioner in the 1990s, the NHL has grown immensely as a business under Gary Bettman, but that doesn't mean he's free from criticism from NHL fans for many questionable decisions and opinions.
One of those issues that fans have had in recent years is tax-free states in the NHL seemingly having an advantage over their opponents in signing free agents, but during a recent appearance on the Real Kyper and Bourne Show, he disputed that notion completely.
"Since the cap came into the effect, the number of Stanley Cups won in Los Angeles, in California with Anaheim and Los Angeles, which has about a high tax rate as anywhere in Canada, is the same number as Florida. Okay, I don't believe it is the issue that some make it out to be, I don't believe that that's the deciding factor for where players want to go. We're not hearing from the players that it's an issue and when you look at it, you can't just look at taxes. You have to look at the cost of living, the cost of housing, what's a desirable place to live in, and the fact that we have the salary cap means that one team, no matter what jurisdiction they're in, they can't scoop up all of the best players and get the best economic deals.
But it's something we look at to make sure that there's a fundamental or substantive base to what I'm saying and based on the preliminary analysis that we've done, I believe what I'm saying is correct."
But it's something we look at to make sure that there's a fundamental or substantive base to what I'm saying and based on the preliminary analysis that we've done, I believe what I'm saying is correct."
Despite teams in Florida and Nevada winning four out of the last five Stanley Cups, with the other being the loaded Colorado Avalanche, Bettman doesn't believe that it can be attributed to that, as he believes there are many other factors that go into a free agency decision.
At this point in time, it may just be a coincidence that those teams are the ones dominating at the NHL level, but given the way these teams have got around the salary cap with LTIR, it's safe to say that it definitely has some type of impact.
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