Friedman: Players don’t want to sign in Canada?

[returnofthemack29]

My God, you have no perspective or awareness in life.

You can try to deflect all you want, but what do those cities have to offer to young, millionaire NHL players??

A quiet family life!!?

 

[Scrantonicity 2]

I think we all know that Canada's climate and the fishbowl marketplaces are unattractive to some players. This isn't news. Mr. Monkey-bum probably had a chat with Parise and Suter and has now extrapolated the whole league hates Canada.

The social media part is a farce, there's plenty of big U.S. markets with more fans on social media than some of the Canadian cities.

The taxes issue is a misconception that gets paraded around time and time again (probably thanks to agents), but the reality is that accountants ensure these guys make nearly identical money regardless of where they play.

 

[blankall]

You can try to deflect all you want, but what do those cities have to offer to young, millionaire NHL players??

A quiet family life!!?

With the cost of living in major Canadian cities, relative to earnings, Canada doesn't even offer a quiet family life anymore.

 

[Devonator]

Not surprised at all. Even 5 years ago I didn't think I would even consider leaving Canada. Today I'm counting money to be able to put them into high dividends shares and go leave a quite live somewhere else. I will let other people enjoy that type of "civilization". US is probably better for athletes considering taxes, climate and restrictions. Social media is same crapshoot everywhere.

I understand my friend...as a born and raised Canuck, I have now been discussing with my family about leaving Canada for good...and I am not just picking on Canada....Western Civ from Germany to California is going in an ugly direction....we seem to be following the blueprint of 1984 and Animal Farm .....however, regarding the continuing trend of NHL players wanting to play in America alone is troubling for our sport.....Canadian teams need some kind of tax break to even out the playing field...not to mention something to deal with our weaker currency up here that also hurts us....if these trends continue, I wonder if another Canadian team can ever win the Cup again outside of a fluky run.....the only teams up here that can somewhat attract Free agents are Toronto and Vancouver...and ever there it is relatively rare.....

 

[LeapOnOver]

Obviously Canada isn't as nice as the US but there are still a lot of nice areas in Canada.

Oh for sure. It's a gorgeous country, no doubt about that. I wasn't taking umbrage with that at all. It was just this ridiculous idea that it's only Americans who don't want to go there.

 

[McRpro]

That was the how, not the why.

There is no why.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Are you seriously making this ridiculous argument? Forget it. You're not worth the time and effort.

Yes, I'm countering your ridiculous argument with an equally ridiculous argument, like I mentioned in the parentheses. Thanks for proving the point. Awesome parting gift!

 

[blankall]

I understand my friend...as a born and raised Canuck, I have now been discussing with my family about leaving Canada for good...and I am not just picking on Canada....Western Civ from Germany to California is going in an ugly direction....we seem to be following the blueprint of 1984 and Animal Farm .....however, regarding the continuing trend of NHL players wanting to play in America alone is troubling for our sport.....Canadian teams need some kind of tax break to even out the playing field...not to mention something to deal with our weaker currency up here that also hurts us....if these trends continue, I wonder if another Canadian team can ever win the Cup again outside of a fluky run.....the only teams up here that can somewhat attract Free agents are Toronto and Vancouver...and ever there it is relatively rare.....

Players get paid in us dollars, so a weaker Canadian currency helps them...a lot.

 

[Devonator]

Players get paid in us dollars, so a weaker Canadian currency helps them...a lot.

You are correct...my faux pas.

 

[McSendy]

As a Canadian living in the US, and also a healthcare professional, I have been very grateful to be in the US over the past year and a half. I feel like a lot of players probably see it the same way. I'm still surprised how many Canadians have been brainwashed into thinking their government did a good job handling the pandemic.

 

[Armourboy]

I'm sure covid protocols are playing a large part in the short term. Even in the US people are leaving States that had tighter restrictions in droves. I see it every day where I work outside of Nashville, we've had 6 people from California start here in the last 6 months and that's just the ones on night shift I know of.

 

[jd22]

Hockey players in general aren't the sharpest tools in the drawer, but to actively consider 'covid restrictions' as a negative factor of a country that has done reasonably well in managing the pandemic is next level stupid.

Money doesn't buy you freedom from personal responsibility.

Well, at least until you're a billionaire anyway.

 

[jd22]

As a Canadian living in the US, and also a healthcare professional, I have been very grateful to be in the US over the past year and a half. I feel like a lot of players probably see it the same way. I'm still surprised how many Canadians have been brainwashed into thinking their government did a good job handling the pandemic.

As a Canadian living in the Netherlands, I can assure you that Canada has indeed done well compared to many western nations.

Edit - this might come off as arrogant, probably could have written it better. I am not a healthcare professional, but I am a scientist. Ontario and Quebec have definitely had their issues, but my most known case study is BC vs Netherlands. It's no contest.

 

[blankall]

As a Canadian living in the US, and also a healthcare professional, I have been very grateful to be in the US over the past year and a half. I feel like a lot of players probably see it the same way. I'm still surprised how many Canadians have been brainwashed into thinking their government did a good job handling the pandemic.

The death rate in the US was over 2.5 times that of Canada's, despite the US population having earlier access to vaccines. If you don't care about people dying, I suppose you're correct?

 

[Rubi]

40 000 gun deaths(about the same as car related deaths by the way), not gun violence. 60% of those are suicides, a large majority of the remaining 40% is gang violence. The media likes to play mass shootings on repeat especially when kids are involved but won't mention the 20+ gang members that kill each other every week like clockwork in Chicago, mostly with illegal unregistered weapons that are the ones actually growing that gun violence number.

You are correct that the 40,000 figure doesn't tell the whole story which is my mistake. I assumed that the 40,000 were all gun related homicides.
But anyways, in 2019 in Canada there were 269 gun related homicides. Canada had a population in 2019 of 37.6 million. Thats 7.15 homicides per 1 million people.
In 2019 in the USA there were 10,258 gun related homicides (fewer than you actually said) but with a population of 328.2 million in 2019. Thats 31.25 homicides per 1 million people... 4.37x the gun homicide rate in Canada. To me... thats scary stuff. The gun culture scares me... and I'm not unfamiliar with firearms as I've hunted most of my adult life.

 

[Waivers]

Taxes? I live in New York and that’s an obvious reason why people leave the state. I didn’t know taxes in Canada are that bad.

 

[TheNumber4]

Canada should realize how important hockey is to the fabric of Canadian culture. The Federal Government should just give Canadian NHL teams a tax break to preserve this culture.

 

[returnofthemack29]

The death rate in the US was over 2.5 times that of Canada's, despite the US population having earlier access to vaccines. If you don't care about people dying, I suppose you're correct?

Right or wrong…the opinion of a lot of Americans is that the people who were classified as dying from COVID were either elderly, who could die from anything as common as the flu, or had pre-existing illnesses that compromised their immune systems. Therefore, they believe that the stats provided are completely inaccurate.

I certainly don’t agree with that theory and am fully vaccinated, but a lot of Americans seem to think that the vaccine is ineffective and that America is trying to cover it up/inject them with a microchip.

Therefore, at this point, I’m fully convinced that we’re living in some kind of a Twilight Zone episode that we just don’t know how to end.

 

[Rubi]

A rapidly declining, uncivilized, soon to be theocratic fundamentalist nightmare where roughly half the population are self-destructing because they worship a fat orange clown and plan on taking the other half with them when they go sure does sound like a great place to be.

But I guess if you're rich America's not so bad. Gospel prosperity democracy. Can always buy yourself a congressman and do what ever you want.

If you are rich and in America you can live in gated communities with armed guards patrolling the grounds to keep you safe. If you are the average Joe living from paycheck to paycheck, you're not so lucky.

 

[TheNumber4]

Keep laughing…the Avs moved to Colorado from Quebec in the 90’s and already have two more Cups to their name than the Canadiens since then.

Canadian Teams’ fans always like to feign superiority, but none of them have won shit!

Do Canadian Teams’ fans realize that the last time that a Canadian NHL team won the cup was Montreal in the 1992-1993 season!???

Jesus Christ. All these winning American teams are filled with Canadians. Don’t think for a second that cause American Cities are winning Cups, that this makes America the superior hockey country.

 

[returnofthemack29]

If you are rich and in America you can live in gated communities with armed guards patrolling the grounds to keep you safe. If you are the average Joe living from paycheck to paycheck, you're not so lucky.

I don’t know what kind of country you think America is, but there is absolutely no reason to have armed guards patrolling your grounds unless you decide to demolish a whole neighborhood and build a mansion in the middle of South Side Chicago!

 

[Rubi]

Taxes? I live in New York and that’s an obvious reason why people leave the state. I didn’t know taxes in Canada are that bad.

Pay too much taxes? That depends on which province you live in and whether you have lots of money and can afford a tax accountant. Wealthy Canadians avoid paying taxes with the best of them. Like America, its the middle class that gets stuck paying when the tax bill arrives. Sure... on average the average Canadian pays more taxes but we also pay for health care through our taxes, we have more of an income safety net (Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan) and higher unemployment insurance benefits and I think better infrastructure (I think a lot of hwys in the USA are in terrible condition and the trash along the side of the road is disgusting).

 

[returnofthemack29]

Jesus Christ. All these winning American teams are filled with Canadians. Don’t think for a second that cause American Cities are winning Cups, that this makes America the superior hockey country.

Dude…30 years! How has a Canadian NHL team not won a Cup in 30 years!??

It seems that your Canadian boys are starving for the direction of American players/executives that have won the Cup in the last 30 years. Obviously, that sure as hell hasn’t come from any Canadian NHL teams and their players/executives in my lifetime and it seems that the Canadian players are really getting fed up with it!

 

[Some Other Flame]

Very sophisticated thinking here

Lots of fellow Canadians have an inferiority complex towards the United States and posts like this are a perfect example

Very sophisticated rebuttal here.

And lol, that was simply countering the massive amount of propaganda Canada's pants are fed on a daily basis.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Players have become so greedy… When I read that a Canadian player doesn’t wanna play in Canada for no justified reason, it’s hard to respect that… and don’t give me that pressure or taxes BS… you don’t like pressure? Then you’re not in the right career. And regarding taxes, you’re paid MILLIONS to play a game - don’t get greedy. Besides, somethings in life are worth more than money. If I could play for my hometown team even at a discount, I would in a heartbeat.

B.s. You've seen the way people talk about these players. Fans are assholes. Just because we pay to watch doesn't give us the right to tell people that they suck. It doesn't mean the players have to take less money either