Ahead of Monday’s Game 3 matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman joined the NHL on TNT studio team to preview the matchup. But interestingly, things got a bit heated when Bettman made it a point to challenge Paul Bissonnette over his opinion on whether the Panthers were unfairly benefiting from a lack of state tax in Florida.
Bissonnette first shared this opinion last week ahead of the Stanley Cup Final, questioning whether this is something that the NHL should look into balancing in the next collective bargaining agreement.
“The fact that Florida, not only is it an unbelievable team, an unbelievable market, but the fact that you’re not paying state tax,” Bissonnette said. “That is an advantage that maybe has to be addressed in the next CBA. That’s a conversation for another day.”
Given the opportunity to speak with Bettman, Bissonnette again brought up the topic on Monday night, questioning whether the commissioner had considered looking into a rule change to take away any advantage that Florida teams have in negotiations with players as a result of the state’s tax laws.
Things didn’t exactly go as Bissonnette imagined. Instead of agreeing with him, Bettman replied by calling his idea “ridiculous” before citing how this wasn’t a concern until the Panthers and other teams from Florida started winning.
“I don’t want to take anything away from the teams from Florida,” said Bissonnette. “Ace put me in a headlock when I brought this up on the broadcast in the Conference Final. Any plans maybe in the future to implement a balance as far as the no state tax?”
“Will you stop? replied Bettman. “It’s a ridiculous issue. When the Florida teams weren’t good, which was for about 17 years, nobody said anything about it. For those of you who played, were you sitting there at the tax table? No, you wanted to go to a good organization in a place where you wanted to live, where you wanted to raise your kids and send them to school. You wanted to play in a first-class arena with a first-class training facility, with an owner, an organization, a GM, and a coach that you were comfortable with. And you wanted to have good teammates so you would have a shot at winning.
“That’s what motivates it. Could it be a little bit of a factor if everything else were equal? I suppose, but that is not it. By the way, state taxes are high in Los Angeles, high in New York. What are we going to do? Subsidize those teams?”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman calls Paul Bissonnette’s concern about the NHL & Florida’s lack of state tax “ridiculous.”
Bettman adds, “I was watching you during the prior rounds. Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your journalistic objectivity.” 🏒🎙️#NHL #StanleyCup https://t.co/eLmLyNCi2c pic.twitter.com/25Tuu8gKnm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025
Bissonnette’s state tax stance wasn’t the only thing that Bettman had some issues with when it came to the NHL on TNT analyst, questioning his “journalistic objectivity” after wearing Toronto Maple Leafs gear at the TNT studio desk earlier in the playoffs.
“I was watching you during the prior rounds,” said Bettman. “Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your journalistic objectivity.”
“You just said three words that I don’t know,” joked Bissonnette. “Who’s got the next question? Who is up?”
Both sides of this argument have validity. But as Bettman alluded to, it’s not something exclusive to the Florida Panthers in the NHL, as the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Seattle Kraken all play in states with no state income tax.
Obviously, not every team on that list is having the kind of year-to-year success that would be evident if there were a significant advantage.
On the other hand, as Bettman himself admitted, having no state tax does become a factor when players are considering between teams that do happen to be successful, like the Panthers. Recently, Panthers star Brad Marchand said as much, explaining that less tax could play a factor as he approaches free agency.
“There are teams where that absolutely matters,” Marchand said, via ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Sunday. “It doesn’t matter for every player, but when you’re dealing with guys that have a choice between multiple teams, it absolutely plays a part. If you have two teams that are offering the same contract, you’re going to pick the team with less tax.”
Regardless of where you stand on the matter, it sure doesn’t appear all that likely that the NHL will be making any changes to penalize teams in tax-free states anytime soon.
