The Ottawa Senators, as implausible as it may seem, share the same disadvantage as their provincial cousins, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
An infographic doing the rounds online shows that the Senators and Leafs have the highest tax rate in the NHL at 53.09%. That’s slightly higher than two other Canadian teams, the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. And it’s the type of data that highlights just how complex it can be for some teams to attract high-end talent.
The league-high tax rate is a stark contrast to other teams like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, which bottom out the league at 36.57%.
Just gonna leave this here, analyze and do what you will with this info.
— Capitán Kessel (@LeafsPassion85) August 4, 2026
But looking at the Cup winners of the past couple of decades even the most staunch defenders of “there’s no tax advantage” can’t look at this image and say there isn’t a correlation here, like cmon people pic.twitter.com/71U5aZ6cTH
So, what does this mean for teams like the Senators? Well, it just means that the Sens will have to pay more to land high-end free agents. And that has a second-order effect that teams like the Panthers just don’t face.
By paying more, the Senators may struggle to show efficient cap management. It eats up much more space than other teams, leading to a clear disadvantage. For all of the parity that the NHL pontificates about, these data clearly show there is a major headwind keeping some teams back.
Senators will have to get creative to maximize cap space
At the end of the day, teams like the Ottawa Senators will have to get creative to maximize their cap allocation. Since the organization won’t be landing players with tax breaks, the club will have to find ways to minimize the government’s bill.
One way teams have managed to do this is through signing bonuses. Bonuses are taxed at a different rate than regular income. That’s why some teams signed players to heavy bonus structures. The league, however, moved to reduce this loophole by limiting the amount a player’s contract could be comprised of bonuses.
In the past, teams like the Leafs signed players to contracts consisting of 90% in bonuses. Now, that number will drop to 60% when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement takes effect in about a month. That’s why the Senators, like the other Canadian teams, will have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make signing in Canada more attractive financially.
But for those who say that there is no such thing as a tax advantage for some teams, look at the bottom three. There’s everything fans need to know about which teams have a head start.
In all fairness, it’s not teams’ or the NHL’s fault. Governments set tax rates, and, well, fans won’t be convincing governments to give NHL players tax breaks just for the sake of competitiveness.
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