Predators GM believes some NHL teams have big advantage in free agency

The Nashville Predators were one of the busiest teams in the early days of NHL free agency, landing three of the top players available in forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as defenseman Brady Skjei.

That trio will take an already strong Predators team that made the playoffs in 2023-24 and help make it a bonafide Stanley Cup contender going into the 2024-25 season.

There are a lot of attractive things about playing in Nashville for free agents, ranging from a strong fan base, a fun city and a team that is consistently competitive. General manager Barry Trotz pointed out that there is one other factor that might play a role. Tennessee's status as one of the states in the country that does not have a state income tax.

Trotz told TSN's Overdrive that it is definitely an advantage for teams in those states, and while it may not be a huge thing for the top-tier free agents, it could certainly be a factor for the second-and third-tier free agents.

"When you talk to Stamkos or Marchessault or players that are serial winners, guys that have gone deep, have had good careers, and made a lot of money, it doesn't go that far," Trotz said, via TSN. "But it does help the middle group a little bit. For the elite players, the top players, they're just looking for a place that's serious about winning, wants to win, fits in their window."

With Florida winning the Stanley Cup this season, four of the past five Stanley Cup champions have come from tax-free states (three from Florida in the Panthers and Lightning twice and the Golden Knights from Nevada), while the Lightning and Dallas Stars also played in the final (and lost) during that stretch.

While that is an interesting development, it is not necessarily a situation where correlation is causation. Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Dallas are some of the most well-run teams in the league and have significant cores made up of players that did not sign as free agents. A lot of those rosters were developed from within.

Those states being tax free is also not a new development. They have existed that way for a while now, and those teams were not always winning Stanley Cups or even reaching the final. Sports leagues always go in cycles with different teams having success for extended periods of time. Prior to this recent five-year run for the aforementioned champions, the Stanley Cup was consistently won by teams in states that do have a state income tax.

Trotz is probably right with his overall assessment, however. There might be some players in the league that see that as an advantage and will use it as a tiebreaker if two teams are similar in their offers. That can also certainly make a difference for teams on the edges of the roster. In a league where there is a fine line between winning and losing, that can be significant. It just probably is not something that teams in these states can count on for building their entire roster.