Maybe this represents a snapshot in time where it is a coincidence that four of the six no-state-tax teams have accounted for 11 of the aggregate 20 conference final spots over the past four years.
And if Florida prevails over Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL would have its fourth champion in the past five seasons coming from a no-tax state, after Tampa Bay won in 2020 and 2021, and Vegas won last year. Colorado in 2022 is the exception.
This is not about Rangers-Panthers. I’ve been writing about the inequity within the hard-cap system over tax rates way before the Puddy Tats grew into Ferocious Cats. It is hard to miss. There is a benefit attached to a team being able to offer somewhat less on a contract because of tax matters.
Tampa Bay, Vegas and Dallas have each been to the conference final three times in the past five years. Florida has been there twice. Nashville and Seattle — the other two no-tax state teams — did not make it.
Bill Zito has done outstanding work as GM in Florida, the same for Jim Nill in Dallas, the same for Steve Yzerman and Julien BriseBois in Tampa, and George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon in Vegas. They’re all sharp and disciplined. They’ve built programs that have lasted.
They don’t need help.
By the way, all of the six teams other than Dallas tapped into LTIR this year so that not even the inherent advantage these teams own could cover the cap. Yes, it will begin to ease next season — when does next season become this season? — when the cap increases, but the advantage will not disappear.
Every individual’s tax situation is unique. So is every venue’s. It’s not like you would just subtract 10 percent of the cap for no-tax state teams. It would be a complex matter to derive a formula that allows for equivalence, but surely there are experts in the field who would be able to solve the puzzle.
It is not the NHLPA’s responsibility to coordinate a change. Indeed, the PA might oppose it. Ninth Avenue certainly has no interest in it.
But the owners of the league’s other 26 teams should agitate for a change that evens the playing field. Why would a minority of six hold sway? Why won’t the owners of the Rangers, Islanders, Oilers, Kings and Ducks band together to address the inequity in the cap system that puts their teams at a disadvantage?
Yes, the Oilers have emerged from a Canadian province with high tax rates. It can be done. The inequity in the system can be overcome. But the Oilers might be an exception that proves the rule.
The CBA expires following the 2025-26 season. The Board of Governors should appoint a committee to study the tax inequities in the cap ahead of the next round of bargaining.
Sheldon Keefe was a solid hire in New Jersey. He’s a coach who brought structure to the Maple Leafs over a five-year run through which he dealt with elite talent and high-end egos.
I don’t care at all for the public disrespect he showed to Jimmy Vesey during and after the winger’s short, unproductive and unhappy stay in Toronto, but I guess who’s perfect, and hopefully that was a one-off and that kind of stuff is behind the coach.
Of course, GM Tom Fitzgerald has the obligation to acquire a no-doubt No. 1 goaltender whose work will infuse the team with confidence instead of leaving a litany of doubt. I think that’s been written before.
It may be a draft-day deal, with the Devils willing to yield the 10th-overall selection and a matter of who bites, but Boston’s Linus Ullmark — a year removed from the Vezina, months away from losing the No. 1 spot to Jeremy Swayman and a year away from free agency — and Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom lead the parade of candidates with Jake Allen in place as the backup.
The Devils have to bulk up, too, there is no question about it. They are too dependent on skill. It’s never too early to get ahead of the conference final curve.
(Oh, I forgot, Kurtis MacDermid.)
I think, too, that entering his sixth season and at age 23, Jack Hughes might want to drop the surfer-dude pose and present himself as a serious leader of his team.
Don’t get me wrong, I was touting No. 86 as a Hart Trophy candidate two years ago, I could watch him play all night. But I thought a touch of arrogance crept into his public persona the second half of last season, and it was not particularly flattering.
Again, Keefe dealt with young, elite talents under a white-hot spotlight and, leaving playoff shortfalls aside, took an imbalanced team with erratic goaltending to between 102-115 points in each of his three full seasons behind the Toronto bench. Keefe’s first two seasons were shortened by COVID.
If Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad return as linemates next camp, I’d be all for giving the first opportunity to Brennan Othmann to ride shotgun on their right wing, and unless it became apparent early that it would not work, the opportunity would be an extended one.
This just in:
Kelly Sutherland wasn’t selected as one of the four referees to work the Cup Final, but we have learned he is going on a lecture tour instead.
