I simply cannot write about the Pirates’ ineptitude for another consecutive week. Re-hashing the same talking points does neither you nor me no good. If you would like your fix of anti-regime rhetoric, read this excellent column from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey: https://t.co/Jb7ifm6OAk. 

This week, I am going to expand beyond the city limits of Pittsburgh and discuss the National Hockey League as a whole in the aftermath of the Florida Panthers’ second-consecutive Stanley Cup triumph. They beat Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers in back-to-back Cup finals. 

Not only are McDavid and Draisaitl two of the (arguably) five best players in the NHL, but they are two of the higher-paid players. McDavid is approaching the end of an eight-year, $100-million contract, which runs through the end of next season. Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112-million contract takes effect this coming season, coming off the back of an eight-year, $68-million deal he signed in 2017. 

The NHL is unique in their contract structure compared to other American professional sports leagues—there are no signing bonuses or restructured deals. Contracts are (almost) always paid with the same salary every year. For example, Draisaitl’s 8/$112M deal will pay him $14 million every year until the summer of 2033. 

Many of the best players in the NHL have won Stanley Cups: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, etc. As you may be able to tell from the title of this piece, no one has ever won the Cup while making more than $10 million on the number. These stars all made less than $10 million when they lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup. Crosby was making $8.7 million in all three seasons during which he won the Cup. MacKinnon was on a $6.3 million average annual value deal when the Avalanche won the Cup. Kucherov was (and still is) earning $9.5 million when he hoisted consecutive Cups in Tampa. 

The Florida Panthers had two guys making exactly $10 million on their roster the past two seasons: captain Aleksander Barkov (8 years, $80 million) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (7 years, $70 million). They are currently the highest-paid players by annual salary to ever win a Stanley Cup.  

Because of the nature of NHL contracts, though, the eight-figure “rule”—in concert with a hard salary cap—becomes complex. Certain teams are perceived to have decided advantages with respect to salary cap flexibility. These advantages largely center around a lack of state income tax, the ability for savvy front offices to place highly-paid players on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) to temporarily remove their cap hit from the books, and other measures. 

Let us begin with state income taxes, or lack thereof. In recent years, hockey teams in states that do not have income tax (the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights) have accounted for five of the last six Stanley Cup championships. In the other, the Lightning were a finalist, losing to the Colorado Avalanche in six games. The Dallas Stars also have a finals appearance in that time frame, hailing from another state without an income tax. 

Mathematically, this is objectively an advantage. A $5 million contract in Florida will pay you more than a $5 million contract in California. That is just the nature of the American tax system. I will not pretend to be a Canadian tax expert, but I imagine their taxes are provincial in some capacity. 

People point to the lack of state income tax as a key factor in Florida’s recent success—and perhaps rightfully so—but this was not an issue during their first thirty years of existence. 

The other financial aspect that recent Cup winners have utilized is salary cap circumvention, placing injured players (in these cases, those with large contracts) on long-term injured reserve to remove their cap hit and allow for personnel moves. Florida did it this season when Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 million cap hit) was injured during the Four Nations tournament and did not return until game 1 of the playoffs. In 2020-21, the Lightning were without Nikita Kucherov for the entire regular season, relieving themselves of his $9.5 million cap hit. Vegas has done this multiple times with Mark Stone and his $9.5 million cap hit. 

Why does this work? The salary cap does not count during the postseason, so activating a player with a large cap hit after the playoffs commence is a non-issue. However, having that salary off the books during the regular season allows for front offices to acquire premium players with larger contracts than would be possible otherwise. 

To me, this is a far bigger issue than taxation. There is never going to be an adequate remedy for state-by-state financial laws, as these are subject to fluctuation. Salary cap circumvention, on the other hand, is a bit more fixable. Preventing players that have been out for a lengthy period of time from returning extremely early in the postseason could deter teams from placing valuable players on LTIR for the purpose of strictly opening up cap space. 

None of this is to say Florida did not deserve to win these past two championships—what they did was perfectly legal under the current rules and regulations of the NHL. However, that does not necessitate that these cannot be amended in the future.

Thank you for reading. Have a good week and stay cool.