Which three things would bother you most as a player?

[kerrabria]

Every market has their pros and cons. If you were a player, and you had lots of options on where to play, which of the following things would you least want to deal with? Pick your three biggest push factors.

Keep in mind:
- You don't have to live in your NHL team's city year-round
- Taxes are paid based on game location (i.e., Boston players only pay Massachusetts taxes for 41 games)

 

[Coffee]

Too urban for a cowboy like me

 

[Coffee]

Every market has their pros and cons. If you were a player, and you had lots of options on where to play, which of the following things would you least want to deal with? Pick your three biggest push factors.

Keep in mind:
- You don't have to live in your NHL team's city year-round
- Taxes are paid based on game location (i.e., Boston players only pay Massachusetts taxes for 41 games)

How about you, OP?

 

[M88K]

I checked taxes but the states politics play a bigger role in that then the catch all "taxes". But states with what I consider bad political agendas have higher taxes generally so it kind of works out

I could never live in Illinois, California, NY or NJ because of their view on gun rights or lack thereof. Same would apply to Canada.
That's a far bigger concern than the actually tax rate to me. Following that you'd have places like Winnipeg, Detroit that are just unappealing.

 

[eXile3]

As someone who is an American citizen, I picked living in the US. Even simple things like getting your children life saving vaccines are a struggle now. It’s really not going in a good direction.

 

[Miro4Norris]

Hot weather doesnt really bother because you can be out of the town in summers anyways

 

[I am not exposed]

A team with a lack of puck bunnies.

I would definitely want to play in a big Canadian market

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

If given the option, I'd take Texas/Florida over living in Canada 10/10 times. State policies do matter, so I wouldn't like playing in California as much as in Nashville either.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

This seems destined to be locked for getting "too political."

I will say that safety doesn't seem like much of an issue. I'm sure players can live in whatever they consider to be the best/safest part of any town or city.

 

[Coffee]

How about you OP?

 

[Machinehead]

I would like to keep a low profile and not freeze my ass off, so I voted for the cold, invasive fans, and critical media. Sorry about that, Canada.

As far as taxes and crime go (not surprised to see those winning!) I live in New York City now and the cold bothers me more than both of those.

Keep in mind:
- You don't have to live in your NHL team's city year-round

What if I play for the Rangers and still live in the hood anyway?

 

[Hollowmoon]

Great poll!

 

[x Tame Impala]

Where’s the “too outdoorsy/not urban enough” option? I spent all of my twenties living in a major US city and had an absolute blast. Great bars, great food, great girls, and that was without making millions of dollars a year while being famous and in impeccable shape.

I’m not sure I’d want to spend my 20’s in a frozen tundra or a place without an awesome nightlife.

 

[Machinehead]

Where’s the “too outdoorsy/not urban enough” option? I spent all of my twenties living in a major US city and had an absolute blast. Great bars, great food, great girls, and that was without making millions of dollars a year while being famous and in impeccable shape.

I’m not sure I’d want to spend my 20’s in a frozen tundra or a place without an awesome nightlife.

Hell yeah

 

[Bouboumaster]

The real #1 would be states politic (and I don't mean Canada/USA, I mean at Provincial/States level). There's place I wouldn't go just because I wouldn't be able to deal with some bullshit happening there.

But since it ain't a choice:

Long distance travel

Not enough media (assuming I'm a good enough hockey player that I get to choose where I want to play) - Fans recognition and adoration, merch to my name and stuff, I would f***ing love it. Great for easy sponsor money too. If I'm a good hockey player, I want everyone to know who I am lol

I went with "Safety/Crime" as the default 3rd choice, because all the rest didn't bother me

 

[um]

My two main things would be safety and the quality of the city. I don't see an option for City quality, just a too urban option, for some reason.

I can overlook downsides such as taxes or weather if I live in a great city.

 

[x Tame Impala]

The city safety thing seems strange to me. If you're a millionaire there's really VERY little you have to worry about. Not to mention in all big cities there's going to be a reasonable level of big city crime. Someone not wanting to live in Chicago for instance because of the crime...that's entirely narrative driven and you've got no idea what you're talking about. I know I'm being pretentious but it really just comes across like you're a naive suburbanite watching too much Fox News or something.

 

[psycat]

Safety first(only one that would be a 100% dealbreaker), travelling far all the time I suspect would get old really quick and lastly I don't like big cities but to be fair that would likely disqualifiy every single team but something with good enviorment instead of middle of the desert or surrounded by highways would be cool.

High taxes would be a factor on league minimum but on average player salary I think I would hardly care since it's more money than I would ever spend either way.

 

[biturbo19]

In no particular order...

1.Hot weather climate. Though moreso "hot and dry". I can't do that year round. I enjoy a nice sunny summer day, but i don't want that be be all day every day. My ideal operating range is like ~15C and a mix of sun, clouds, and throw in some good rain here and there or even thunderstorms.

2.Hypercritical media. I'd like to think i'm more mentally tough than that, but it'd almost certainly get to me because i can't resist checking in on it and it'd definitely get under my skin. Especially just having to deal with idiotic leading questions after every game.

3.Super invasive fanbase. I don't think i'd enjoy being hassled constantly whenever i go try to do anything around town. Just leave me alone.

 

[biturbo19]

The city safety thing seems strange to me. If you're a millionaire there's really VERY little you have to worry about. Not to mention in all big cities there's going to be a reasonable level of big city crime. Someone not wanting to live in Chicago for instance because of the crime...that's entirely narrative driven and you've got no idea what you're talking about. I know I'm being pretentious but it really just comes across like you're a naive suburbanite watching too much Fox News or something.

Yeah. I don't really get this one either. Wild that it's the leading thing. I'm not really that worried by "urban crime" in general, but especially as a millionaire living in those places...it's not like you're going to be living in the riskier, higher crime density areas. You'll be able to afford a very nice place in a "safer" area where you're not even going to come into much contact with that sort of crime and poverty.

I'd probably just want a downtown penthouse anyway...but "not urban enough" or "bad downtown" weren't really options on this poll. Otherwise, i'd have picked that one. I don't wanna have to live in some stupid McMansion an hours drive from where i go to work/play every day. That kind of "travel time" would bother me a lot more than just being on the road a lot with chartered jets, luxury hotels, etc.

 

[PistolPete]

Taxes. Nothing annoys me more than paying high taxes knowing it's going to be wasted or mysteriously disappear.


So Canada, I love thee, but you're off my list of preferred destinations.