Stamkos on considering accepting a lower salary to stay here: "I think that has been a part of everyone's thought process in the core group of guys that we have had here in terms of what guys have taken over the years to stay here. I understand the tax advantage and that type of thing. Kuch is making $9.5. That is probably grossly underpaid in terms of what guys are getting now. Vasy. Pointer with 40 or 50 goals every year. You look at Matthews. What did he sign for? $13.5 or something? Heddy is making under $8 million. That is grossly underpaid if you look at what he has done. That is what everyone has done here and that is why we have had the success and that is the way it has been for this organization. I think that that in itself is a testament to management in how they want to build a team and, first and foremost, the players for wanting to do that and accept that and allow the management to go out there and build a roster to compete for the Stanley Cup. I think that's just always been the way it's been here"
https://x.com/Gabby_Shirley_/status/1785692569990525059
This is going around social media. Kinda sucks to read this as a Leafs fan.
36 comments
Spot on, though.
Fair play tbh. They took the money and that includes the heat that comes with it.
But also, like Stamkos says himself, the tax advantage is pretty massive as well. If the league was actually interested in parity they’d build that into the cap.
He’s not wrong… That’s why UFAs would prefer to sign with tax benefitted teams…
In Toronto you get media, tax and weather
Didn’t kuch miss the regular season and miraculously recover for the playoffs?
Taxes are a hell of a thing
kind of hilarious how much revenue these players create for the league and the owners have built a universe where we blame players. The shame that goes into Auston fucking Matthews making only 13 million + additional taxes. God knows how much money he has created for this league
For everyone trying to absolve Matthews of taking every dollar (and at a shorter term) because of “tax disadvantages”; just remember he gets paid nearly 94% of his entire contract in signing bonuses AND the contract is as front loaded as much as is allowed.
Signing bonuses are paid out in the summer, and Matthews is a resident of Arizona.
It’s easy to say you took discounts when the tax advantage is a very real thing. I can guarantee Kuchs take home is more than Panarin.
Imagine telling someone you turned down an extra million or two dollars annual salary at work to win a work award that would be linkedin meme worthy.
I mean, personally if I was a star NHLer I would take a discount in Tampa but not in Toronto too.
Well, let’s be real. He ain’t taking the “home town discount”…what he’d make in the state of Florida is what he would make in Canada after tax. The state tax thing is the biggest factor.
Average housing in Florida is half of what it costs in Toronto.
And you get beach life pretty much year round.
It’s comparing apples and steaks.
He’s not wrong. They won 2 cups. That being said, the tax disparity between franchises is an unfair advantage, and the NHL should be able to account for it.
Don’t tell Marner lol
he’s right though
It’s true tho lol
Part of is absolutely the tax benefits but also other teams gave gotten players to sign for fair values. I’m sorry but the reality is our guys have been pretty focused on maximizing career earnings which I mean I get it, who doesn’t want more money lol.
Oh person I can hardly blame is JT who reportedly was given better offers by SJ and NYI
Yeah, “as a Leafs fan”, it’s very disturbing for you to finally read something and understand it. Like ummm, no shit Sherlock!
TLDR; Leafs stars are overpaid.
Whoda thunk it?!
Almost all those deals were market value when they signed and the cap increased like normal. Stamkos, ironically, is the big exception. This is just
him sucking himself and his teammates off. Also, players say this shit to create the narrative before they sign. MacKinnon did the same shit and look at the deal he signed. Remember when Timo Meier re-signed and all you guys were blowing him cuz he said he took less to win and you wanted Nylander to do that? $8.55MM a year, averages 13 fewer points per 82 games than Nylander, 46 fewer points this season (in 13 fewer games), gets hurt more, and missed the playoffs. This shit is all PR. Wanna talk salary structure? Their current salary structure has them cooked, shit-kicked in round one, heavily declining. The biggest advantage they had was that they wisely used assets to get cheap and useful guys with term like McDonagh, Coleman, and Goodrow and already had Gourde cheaper than he should’ve been. Did Cernak and Sergachev take discounts? What would they cost if they weren’t just such great guys?
This is exactly why states and provinces with no state taxes or low province taxes should have a smaller cap. Thanks Stamkos for arguing this point.
Yeah, but playing in Florida also has it advantages like lower taxes. So that makes getting paid less a little easier to swallow.
Why does that suck to read as a leafs fan? Did you just realize that now that Stamkos pointed it out?
Now let’s look at what they make after taxes
We’ll see it again when Reinhart signs for 9M in Florida.
Guys talking about how much less he’s going to take because the Bolts would probably rather him walk.
bring in a luxury tax like every other league
from the 9th hole i’m guessing…
Now, maybe I am less touchy than I am supposed to be as a Leafs fan, but this reads to me more of him pumping his own team’s tires than anything else. Just in case they want to sign somewhere else (maybe himself included), he is saying: “hey we took discounts to achieve something. Our market value is more than this”.
Mentioning Matthews is a natural market touch point, and I don’t think he addressing the Leafs salary allocation much at all.
I’m sure all the fringe players paying escrow into the NHLPA and agents are loving Stammer’s comments, lol
The salary cap only works if every player tries to maximize their earnings. It’s not fair for some star players on a team to collude to lower their salaries in order to win a cup. Those players end up suppressing all players’ salaries while the owners laugh to the bank.
Is it “taking a shot” if it’s telling the truth?
Our top players are selfish, whether it’s fair or not, they’re selfish, and some other teams have a culture that promotes building a team first mentality.
Shanahan and Dubas fucked that up.
So Stamkos is for players being “grossly underpaid”?
Who gives a fuck? Honestly why do you even post this nonsense here
Also, i guess youre signing for 3m then Stamkos?
I understand the tax advantage then proceed to ignore the tax advantage. Idiot.