First, Sam Bennett signed an eight-year contract with an $8 million AAV, and now Aaron Ekblad has followed. The Florida Panthers defenseman just signed his own eight-year, $6.1 million AAV extension. What’s more? Despite the Cats being left with $4.9 million in cap space, it seemed Brad Marchand might follow. Suddenly, Florida’s troubles of having to retain three players on the verge of free agency seem to be moving to the rearview mirror. And you know what that means?

The tax advantage debate is once again at the forefront. Then again, it always was. “The fact that Florida, not only is it an unbelievable team, an unbelievable market, but the fact that you’re not paying state tax. That is an advantage that maybe has to be addressed in the next CBA,” former NHL star Paul Bissonnette said even before the Cats won their second Stanley Cup. However, Florida Panthers’ Jameson Olive is tired of the argument.

Shortly after Ekblad’s re-signing with the Cats, the Sr. Digital Content Manager took to social media to check the doubters. “Florida and Nashville both have no state income taxes, and their situations couldn’t be any more different. Stop whining about taxes, give the Panthers their due, and accept Bill Zito is just an incredible GM,” Olive wrote for those who constantly cite taxes, or the lack thereof.

“Players want to win, and no one is winning more than the Panthers,” added the Cats’ behind-the-scenes member. The staffer furthered his argument in favor of the Florida Panthers and his abilities to earn the players’ trust as the real reason why players stay. “A reason players probably are OK with taking less at this point is because they also trust what Zito will do with those savings in order to build a winner,” Olive added as a side note.

Jameson Olive also added that it’s not uncommon for teams to ask players to take less. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll accept. Yet, the fact that NHL stars do agree to it shows their trust in the system rather than tax benefits. And he isn’t the only one saying it. The league itself doesn’t see it as an advantage for Florida. After all, they are far from the only state with the so-called advantage.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, and Seattle Kraken are five other teams in the league without state income tax. Everyone, from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and beyond, believes these teams don’t really enjoy any extra advantage.

The league on the Florida Panthers’ upper hand

“These imbalances have existed forever,” Daly said, as per the Associated Press. “There are so many reasons why a player may choose to play in a particular location for a particular team for a particular coach that have nothing to do with the tax situation in that market,” he added. NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey shared a similar sentiment, as per AP.

Hainsey also doesn’t see an issue. In fact, as an ex-NHL star who played in the league for 17 years, he expressed bafflement. He also compared the situations of NHL teams like the Florida Panthers with those in the NFL and NBA. Hainsey said that tax benefits are not among the top issues in those leagues. And what about Commissioner Gary Bettman?

Well, the NHL commissioner hit the nail right on the head while speaking to Paul Bissonnette. “When the Florida Teams weren’t good, which was for about 17 years? Okay, nobody said anything about it,” argued Bettman. The tax benefits existed long before Bill Zito and Paul Maurice built the Stanley Cup-winning squad. However, that doesn’t mean the tax being initiated absolutely does not play a role. Take Brad Marchand, for example.

The Florida Panthers’ 2025 playoff hero did claim that the tax benefits do play a role. Marchand compared Canadian teams, like Montreal, to those like Dallas. “That’s a 15% difference. When you add that up, it’s a tremendous amount of money,” he said. And who knows? Maybe that will be enough to keep Marchand in Florida for the next few years.