With the Florida Panthers shining consistently in the last three playoffs, there has been a lot of talk about the culture built around this team that has led to its success. Coach Paul Maurice has spoken a lot about the locker room culture, saying, “The culture is good on the players that are in and out of our lineup. They feel a part of it.” Matthew Tkachuk even recently spoke fondly of the Florida fan culture when compared to the Maple Leafs, saying, with regard to the “crazy circus” of Leafs fans, “We don’t have to deal with that in Florida.” So clearly Florida has something going for them that makes top players want to be a part of this culture. But is the team really ticking all the boxes?

While Florida is one of the most successful teams in the NHL at the moment, some people may be surprised to find out that they don’t have the highest salary cap. In fact, Florida, with a projected salary cap of $88.69M, has nearly $13 million less to spend than the Washington Capitals, who reportedly have a full $101.17M to divide amongst players! Regardless, money doesn’t seem to be the main focus in the Sunshine State, with former Panther Ed Jovanovski himself weighing in on what makes the team so highly sought after. 

In a recent episode of the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Jovanovski seemed to share his own awe at the way Florida GM Bill Zito made it all work within the salary cap: “They (Florida players) experience something here, and you have an opportunity to win each and every year, and it’s not a bad place to live.” Jovanovski said, alluding to the climate and beach, presumably, “And when you create a culture like that too, I feel like everybody’s willing to take a million less a year. Like a guy like Reinhardt, like he could have got way more in free agency, you know. They got Marchand, who’s going to hit free agency–“ That’s right, Marchand hits free agency on the 1st of July, just when things were getting good. But Jovanovski seems to think he’ll stay with Florida without a doubt, adding, “Like, I wouldn’t be shocked if he signs for less than what the Bruins offered him just because he loves the environment and wants to win hockey games… They created something really special. It’s taken some time, and I think they’ve done it the right way.” 

Jovanovski went on to use his own experience to elaborate on the nature of the Florida culture and lifestyle, saying, “The practice facility, you know, I mean state-of-the-art. Um, all the players kind of live in that area; they’re taking their golf carts or whatever. They’re just close; they’re a close-knit group, and they’ve created this culture here in this organization where it’s a place that, hey, listen, when free agency comes up, you know the Panthers are at the top of the list of players wanting to come here looking.” True, it doesn’t sound so bad—sun, fun and winning—but is there something else that’s keeping the Panthers here besides the salary cap…something less flashy and…urm, slightly more admin-oriented in nature?

Like…taxes? Fans certainly seem to think this is the key to Florida being one of the most sought-after teams, over anything else.

Fan reactions to statement about Florida Panthers players taking pay cuts just to be on the team

Fans wasted no time jumping to conclusions under Jovanovski’s video: “Yeah, pay cuts cause of their tax situation.” One fan wrote, alluding to the fact that Floridians pay no personal income tax as of 1968, when the constitution of the state was changed to allow for this.

Another fan chose sarcasm as the approach to state their case. “Yeah, not the tax rate at all? Sign in Calgary for 10 mill a year and after taxes its more like 7.5/8 million, or sign in Florida for 8.5 million and actually make 8.5 million… Get rid of the salary cap and level the playing field.” This is basically saying that whatever the Florida players might be losing in their salaries, they are saving on their taxes, and maybe it’s a fair balance.

Another fan indicated that this isn’t a new phenomenon; referring to the Big Bad Bruins era in the 70s, the fan stated the importance of the culture over the paychecks, saying, “Same formula that happened in Boston to lead to a decade plus of success. As soon as they started paying market value to the top stars and then have to rebuild while missing the playoffs.”

Another fan, for some reason, found fault with Ed Jovanovski’s argument altogether, writing, “Here come the crying Canadians! It’s like clock work! Truth is Matt Tkachuk changed the culture, they’ve won 9 of 10 playoff series since he’s been there.” Well, he hasn’t been too amazing this playoff season, but let’s see if this statement still holds true at the end of it.

And finally, one fan was not afraid to call out the elephant in the room: “A great culture” and it’s just low taxes and sunshine”.

Truly those are the things that make a great culture, though, aren’t they? That and a second consecutive Stanley Cup, maybe?