Brian Burke says Canadian teams have advantages when it comes to signing UFAs.

Burke makes a good case.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Brian Burke says Canadian teams have advantages when it comes to signing UFAs.

There has been a lot of consternation regarding teams in the National Hockey League that benefit tremendously as a result of their local taxes. Specifically teams that have no state tax like the Dallas Stars or the Tampa Bay Lightning, both of whom are currently in the Stanley Cup Final, in theory have a competitive advantage due to the fact that when a player signs with one of those teams he in theory gets to keep more of his money. 

This has created a fear around the league that teams like the Lightning have a competitive advantage over teams that do have a state tax or in some cases an elevated state or provincial tax. Among the teams that are in the latter category are the teams north of the border in Canada, but there is a growing sense that those teams may all of a sudden become more and more attractive as destinations in these trying times. 

On Saturday night former National Hockey League executive Brian Burke made comments during the first intermission of Game 1 regarding the competitive advantage that he feels teams in America have in terms of taxes, but he would also go on to suggest that he feels the teams in Canada have a lot to offer given the current climate in the United States of America.

"First off I think Canada is a safer place right now. If you look at COVID and crime rates and all that, climate change, earthquakes, fires," said Burke. "Canada has a good story to tell and I like the direction that all the Canadian teams are moving. Canadian based players get U.S. funds but pay their daily expenses in Canadian and that is a big advantage."

As I stated Burke's comments here were part of a larger discussion regarding taxes and how they provide a competitive advantage to some teams in the United States. If you would like to see his full comments on the topic of taxes and how Canadian teams may be able to offset those advantages check out the short clip provided below. 

Do you agree with Burke? Or is he out to lunch on this one?


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