Getting free agents to play in Canada getting tougher, according to report

One thing the NHL has to deal with that other major sports leagues do not is having any, or more than one, team based in Canada rather than the United States. Different rules, regulations and laws can be a major factor for a player when deciding which offer to accept as a free agent. According to one report, it's getting tougher to get players to ink deals with Canadian teams.

In his latest article, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman cites an anonymous NHL GM as saying "he's hearing more and more from players that they prefer not to play in Canada."

"It's a real thing," the GM said.

The reasons? Taxes are one, which has been discussed many times during free agency, especially in the salary cap era. A contract worth $8 million a year will leave a player with much more money playing in Florida than it would in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg or any of the other provinces. The other reasons include "social media and tighter pandemic restrictions."

The social media thing is interesting. While Friedman did not elaborate on the GM's statement, it's easy to assume that players feel much more pressure playing in Canada than they do in the US. Hockey is king in Canada, whereas in the US, it can be far down the list in many States when it comes to coverage from reporters and chatter about it on social media. Even just trade speculation can be a number one trending topic on Twitter in Canada, let alone a trade itself. While Jonathan Drouin has never confirmed it himself, it's been widely speculated that his reason for stepping away from the Montreal Canadiens last season was the constant pressure from people and reporters in his home province of Quebec to perform better. It's very easy for someone on the outside to say "suck it up" when they haven't been subjected to that kind of pressure for months, or even years, at a time.

As for the tighter restrictions due to COVID-19, I suspect that won't be an issue for too much longer as Canada is one of the world leaders when it comes to vaccination rates.

Friedman's discussion of the reasons for not playing in Canada came about when talking about free agent defenceman David Savard, whom he says is "more willing than some of his peers to consider Canadian destinations."

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