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For the third year running, the Florida Panthers are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. Florida is set to face the Edmonton Oilers in a rematch of the 2024 finals, but do the Panthers have an unfair advantage? Former NHL veteran Paul Bissonnette believes so.
Should Florida win the Stanley Cup, it would mark the fifth time in six years that a team from a state with no income tax has done so. Florida already joined Vegas (2023) and Tampa Bay (2020, 2021) with that distinction a year ago. While teams such as the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators have also benefited for the legal loophole.
this is kind of pathetic. Paul Bissonette, on NHL Postgame show on TNT said NHL needs to look into addressing the teams that don’t have to pay state income tax to their players because it’s too much of an advantage in the next CBA. That’s soft. Anson Carter quickly checked him. pic.twitter.com/HaTSNnL56j
— Zack Duarte (@fflumberjack) May 29, 2025
Paul Bissonnette Claims NHL Needs To Address Teams With No State Income Tax
“The fact that Florida, not only is it an unbelievable team, an unbelievable market, but the fact that you’re not paying state tax,” Bissonette said. “That is an advantage that maybe has to be addressed in the next CBA. That’s a conversation for another day.”
Bissonnette’s co-host, Anson Carter, pushed back on that assertion.
“You think so? Really? I mean, nobody was talking about the state tax advantage that Florida and Tampa Bay had when those teams were brutal,” Carter said. “So, why is it gonna be such an issue now? Now they’ve got good teams they can use to their advantage. But 10-15 years ago, no one was saying, ‘Hey, look, these guys have an unfair advantage.'”
Carter makes a solid counterpoint. Both Tampa Bay and Florida are extremely well-run organizations at the moment. As are Dallas and Vegas. That is the primary reason those teams are experiencing success. But it would be naive to pretend that the lack of state tax has no implications.
Conversely, Canadian teams could be in a tough spot after a recent tax ruling in the country.
“I’m just trying to say that I think we’d be naive to not think there isn’t an advantage,” Bissonnette continued.
Are the Pathers good because Florida has no state income tax? No. Florida drafted extremely well to land players such as Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad then surrounded them with stars such as Matt Tkachuk and Sam Bennett via trades. But it sure doesn’t hurt. And it’s something the NHL may be forced to address.