Completely, respectfully disagree. Reinhart and Stamkos were the top UFAs last year. Both signed in no income tax states. The Kings would have had to pay Reinhart $10mm just to match Florida's offer when you figure in taxes ($8,625,000/(1-.13)). Players are taxed in the state where the game is played- Reinhart plays over half his games on a $0 income tax state. On what planet are the Kings getting Gustav Forsling for the $5.75mm Florida is paying him? Stamkos and Marschesault both went to Nashville after playing in $0 income tax states. Next to the chance to win the Cup, AFTER TAX income is the biggest driver of UFA decisions. That trumps nice weather every single time. Want more proof? Why has no Canadian team won the Cup in 30+ years? Heck, only 1 Canadian-based team has even made the finals in quite a while. In baseball with no salary Cap, the big market teams can offer a lot more money to offset higher taxes. In the NHL with finite dollars to dole out, taxes matter, a lot. Ask yourself. why did Tkachuk want out of hockey-mad Calgary and immediately sign long term in Florida? This is an emerging theme that will increasingly dominate competitiveness in the NHL.
1. Canadian players are paid in US Dollars so the $10 million dollars translates to $13 million Canadian right now. The reason they haven't won a cup on 30 years is because there's only been six of them for about 20 of those years and when you represent 25% of the league, the odds of one of them winning is smaller. Should I name all of the US based teams with low/no income tax that also haven't won the cup in the last 30 years?
2. Tkachuk wanted out of Calgary because he hated Daryl Sutter and said it was him or me and they chose Sutter. Also, his contract was up and no way was Florida giving up what they were giving up without assurances that a contract would be in place and signed.
3. I don't watch enough of Florida to comment on Forsling but is he worth the same salary as a Quinn Hughes? A Heiskenan? Close to a Makar or a Fox? Is he worth $2-3 million a year more than a Gavrikov? $4 million more than a Mikey Anderson? That's the suggestion you're making regarding what the Kings would have to pay him and what the market is showing who the players making that much are.
As I've stated before, I'm sure taxes play a factor, I just don't believe it to be the biggest one or even a driver. It's a "well these two teams are pursuing me and one plays a system I like and has had a lot of recent success. As a nice bonus the taxes are lower too."
We can't both demand that we want players who don't just want to come here because of the weather but also lament the fact that we aren't getting players because they don't like our tax structure. IF a player is choosing a team based on the fact that they will get paid more, why do you want that guy?