How NHL’s State Tax Debate Impacts Flyers, Rebuild

Six straight Eastern Conference champions in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have come from an unexpected state. The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers have stunned NHL traditionalists with sustained dominance.

However, critics have pointed to the advantage of NHL teams that play in states with favorable income tax laws that provided a supposed unfair advantage to maneuver the salary cap and attract free agents. Players on the Lightning and Panthers ultimately take home more from their paychecks than players from more traditional hockey markets who sign contracts with identical average annual value.

The Philadelphia Flyers have a complicated hurdle to clear in their organizational rebuild. How can they expect to lift the Prince of Wales Trophy with the Lightning and Panthers in the same conference?

The Flyers, like all 32 NHL franchises, must optimize their unique advantages in a competitive free agent market that characterizes the modern NHL.

The NHL salary cap era has limited the financial advantages of major market teams like the Flyers since 2005. The idea of traditional and non-traditional hockey markets and the awkwardness of hockey in warmer climates has faded.

The Panthers and Lightning  — along with the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, and Seattle Kraken  — enjoy the luxury of attracting free agents with state income tax advantages.

Vegas won the Stanley Cup in 2023 in their second Finals appearance in just six seasons of existence. The Stars have also advanced to three consecutive Western Conference Finals. Warmer climates and attractive nightlife certainly haven’t hurt these non-traditional hockey markets either.

Meanwhile, unfavorable complexities in tax laws have hindered Canadian teams during their unfathomable Stanley Cup drought dating back to 1993.

A long list of high-profile American franchises also missed the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks met the same fate as the Flyers.

The financial reality has unquestionably impacted the NHL landscape. However, it hasn’t solely swung the league’s competitive balance so drastically to create an insurmountable advantage for the Flyers or any other franchise.

NHL agents have publicly downplayed the impact of state tax laws on the free agent market. They don’t treat the state income tax factor as the ultimate decider of free agent destinations and certainly not the decider of a season’s outcome.

The shifting success of recent Stanley Cup champions like the Panthers, Lightning, and Golden Knights also coincides with increased parity in the salary cap era, growth of hockey in newer markets, and the progress of NHL expansion.

The NHL can collectively acknowledge the advantage of individual state tax laws without making drastic changes in the new upcoming CBA, which was recently suggested on the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoff coverage on TNT.

The Flyers don’t plan to bottom out with the goal of stocking the top of their roster with top-five draft picks during the rebuild. The strategy has merit, but it also requires some additional dependence on free agency and trades.

The Flyers won’t draw players with the appeal of a warm climate or favorable tax breaks like the Lightning or the Panthers. They’ve lost the ability over the past decade to sell themselves similarly to the Bruins with history as a storied organization constantly in Stanley Cup contention.

Danny Briere won’t operate with the benefit of the Toronto Maple Leafs dangling the appeal of playing at the sport’s historical center where a high percentage of the NHL talent pool considers home. He can't laud the showcase of Madison Square Garden like the rival New York Rangers.

What appeal can the Flyers offer free agents in a saturated NHL market with 32 teams competing for all available top-end talent?

The organization has worked toward a subjective goal of establishing culture as a major emphasis of their rebuild. Part of that culture is reaffirming the reputation their franchise founder Ed Snider established as a first-class organization who takes care of its people with unbeatable loyalty off the ice.

Dan Hilferty has prioritized fixing some shortcomings in alumni relations since he began with Comcast Spectacor in 2023. 

Hilferty treats the past as prologue. His interest in restoring the same strengths the Flyers have shown in past eras relates to the rebuild and the plan to progress into an attractive free agent destination.

Part of the appeal of hiring Keith Jones as President of Hockey Operations was his knowledge of the Philadelphia market and its history. They Flyers expect his strong reputation around the NHL to improve the organization's overall reputation.

Briere kept that reputation in mind at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. He moved Erik Johnson, a player with significant influence in NHL circles, in a trade seen mainly as a favor to the veteran defenseman.

He also traded Scott Laughton to Toronto close by his hometown of Oakville, Ontario. Laughton had dealt with a difficult family matter just months before the trade, and Briere granted a certain amount of preference for a destination to a respected leader of the Flyers.

The Flyers took on criticism for their decision to hire Rick Tocchet as head coach. Whether or not you agree with the hire, it benefits the perception of the Flyers as an organization who treasures its history and continues Ed Snider’s proud legacy.

The NHL salary cap will increase drastically in the coming seasons. It will create distance from the flat cap era inflicted by financial challenges of the pandemic that has limited the flexibility of front offices since 2020.

While Comcast Spectacor is willing to spend the money, the Flyers lost the advantage of outspending teams when the salary cap era began. Multiple previous front office regimes have mishandled the salary cap, but the Flyers hope they've finally shed the financial handcuffs. 

Hilferty expanded on ownership's willingness to invest in the future of the Flyers.

He acknowledged that all teams will operate with the same increase. However, the Flyers will benefit from the deep pockets of Comcast ownership, their growing reputation around the NHL, and the alleviated freedom from players owed dead money who haven’t contributed to the roster.

The salary cap also doesn’t apply to all realms of an organization’s operations. A first-class organization – like Hilferty hopes to build and maintain – can finance ideal scouting departments, team facilities, and other resources to make Philadelphia an attractive destination.

Tocchet himself offers an additional appeal to free agents. NHL stars like Quinn Hughes, Sidney Crosby, and Phil Kessel have spoken glowingly about Philadelphia’s new head coach.

Briere’s risk to draft Matvei Michkov and expedite the timeline of his NHL debut also contributes to the possibility of Russian players showing interest in joining the Flyers.

Will potential free agents enjoy warm, sunny beaches throughout the heart of the NHL season in Philadelphia? No, and they’ll pay some hefty income tax in a major Northeast NHL city too.

However, for the Flyers to rebuild successfully and enter Stanley Cup contention, they must optimize all advantages at their disposal. Working against the Lightning and the Panthers financially is no different than counteracting a strategy on the ice with a tactical adjustment.

The Flyers have already taken steps toward that adjustment under their current front office. They’ll now attempt to materialize them with a successful free agent pitch.