Keeping it Real…

Your calendar has a flaw if it says no special Canadian historical event happened on June 9.

That’s wrong. On June 9, 1993 the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup and lifted it high, as millions of Canadians celebrated from coast to coast to coast!

Sadly, that was the last time a Canadian team will ever win the Cup.

Since then, we have dreamt about it happening again; we have cheered on our favorite team each season; we have united behind any remaining Canadian team after our own falls in defeat … and then, we sigh and mourn when an American team hoists the cup.

Team coaches, managers, sports “reporters’ and pundits have parroted the usual cliches at the end of each season: our teams are young, but rebuilding; a new coach will change everything; we’re making trades that will improve our goal-scoring; and, there will be terrific prospects ahead in the draft.

For 33 years now!

And our broadcasters repeatedly remind us “This is OUR beautiful game!”

But Canadian teams will never again win another Stanley Cup … and here’s why:

Too many of our best players …after years of being trained, experienced and becoming strong goal-scorers, even stars, for Canadian teams … left us for American teams!

Remember Pavel Bure, Roberto Luongo, Wayne Gretsky, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Brendan Shanahan, Mark Messier, Matthew Tkachuk, Mitch Marner, even the venerable Tim Horton? Poof, all of them in their prime, left Canadian teams for the US!

Of course, there are differing reasons why any professional trained and successful individuals in Canada might move south: better career opportunities (for hockey players, to win the Cup!); team trades; climate; lifestyle; to be closer to relatives; and, money.

The NHL does have a salary cap: reportedly $20.8 million per player in the 2026-2027 season, but let’s keep it real … some US franchises are just richer than others, can pay more higher salaries and offer more lucrative off-season promotional/sponsorship/endorsement opportunities.

Now the Montreal Economic Institute has identified another incentive that draws Canadian stars to the stars and stripes: TAXES!

“Professional athletes have short careers and therefore a limited window in which to earn income through their salaries,” observes Vincent Geloso, senior economist at the MEI. “This creates a strong incentive to play where taxes are lowest.”

“Five of the last six Stanley Cups have been won by a team from a state with no personal income tax.”

According to the MEI study:

“On a yearly salary of $750,000, a player on the Montreal Canadiens pays $364,312 in taxes, an effective tax rate of 48.5 per cent. For a player on the Panthers or the Stars, for example, this tax bill drops to $234,520, for a rate of only 31.2 per cent. That’s a difference of more than $129,000 per year on the same salary.”

“The NHL’s salary cap is based on gross salary rather than net salary. In practical terms, this means a team in a state with no income tax can offer exactly the same contract as a Canadian team while allowing the player to keep much more money in his pocket,” the Economic Institute pointed out.

Mitch Marner’s 8-year contract with the Las Vegas Golden Knights totals $96,000,000 US … in a state that has no state income tax.

Of course, he really wants that Stanley Cup ring. But even without one, surely it would be a lot easier to console himself with the loss down south!

No wonder so many Canadian team stars have headed south … making it MUCH for difficult (impossible?) for a Canadian team to ever again with the Cup. (There are 19 Canadian players on the two current Cup finalist teams.)

I’ll still pull for a Canadian team … ANY Canadian team.

Even though the deck is stacked and I know we’ll NEVER again take home the Stanley Cup!

Pass it on …

Harv Oberfeld

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In politics … and comedy … timing is critical! But no one in the BC Conservative Party should be laughing at how the vote results/announcement of their new Leader were rolled out Saturday.

The Conservatives, although Official Opposition in the BC Legislature, are barely known by most British Columbians … I’d bet most could not name the past Leader, the new contenders for the job, the party’s critic or more than one or two of their MLAs, if that!

Saturday, the Conservatives were given a FREE gift by Global BC, my old alma mater, when the province-wide station pre-empted its entire 6 p.m. Newshour to broadcast LIVE from the Conservatives’ Convention where the ballot results of their Leadership Election would be announced.

Trust me: given current budget and staffing restraints, that was a real public service to dedicate to the event a full one-hour broadcast (microwave or satellite equipment/technicians; on-site camera, lighting, audio crews; master control staff; on-location host Sophie Lui, Legislative Reporter Ben O’Hara-Byrne, three guest panelists and, in Victoria, Legislative Bureau Chief Keith Baldrey). No other TV broadcaster did that.

And then the Conservatives blew it!

The party’s new Leader had been chosen by members voting on-line over several days, with the ranked-balloting ending at 8 p.m. Friday.

Let’s keep it real: the results of the computerized vote could have been collated and announced within minutes.

But the Conservatives brass decided, quite understandably, to hold a large public event of supporters Saturday in the hall of the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station in Vancouver to announce the results and crown their new Leader … TELEVISED LIVE by Global BC in its top-rated 6 p.m Newshour slot.

What a coup!

Until the Conservatives shot themselves in the foot.

The Newshour went on air as scheduled; Lui and her panel suitably announced to the viewing audience what was happening; and, then filled airtime waiting for the results; and waited, and waited; and waited.

The First Ballot results were not announced until 6:35 p.m!

I can tell you I really doubt, in today’s 150-channel universe, many of the Newshour’s 100,000 (?) weekend viewers who tuned in a 6 p.m. were still watching at 6:15 p.m. … still waiting for FIRST BALLOT results.

Click! Probably by 6:10! Click! Click! Click!

And it got worse!

The Second Ballot results weren’t announced until 6:45 p.m.; the Third Ballot results at 6:52 p.m. … and the final, Fourth Ballot results at 7:01 p.m.

But The Newshour had gone OFF the air at 6:59 p.m. to return to regular programming.

LOL!!!

So the party, that wants to convince British Columbians it can run the province, couldn’t even announce its new Leader … Kerry-Lynne Findlay … and make sure her speech got carried province-wide before the NEWSHOUR went off the air!

Newshour viewers … any who stayed for the full hour … missed her entire speech! When the party could have collated the results shortly after 8 p.m Friday and surely have announced it all and given their new leader province-wide Newshour LIVE airtime before 7 p.m. Saturday.

The” past-7 p.m” coverage did continue on Global’s BC-1 24-hour news station, but I doubt, apart from political and news junkies, the audience there was anything like that of the Newshour on Global BC.

Not an auspicious beginning for the new Conservative Leader!

As for Findlay herself, she’s carrying lots of baggage and may seem too far right for most British Columbians; but David Eby is also burdened down these days , so should be an interesting battle.

And DRIPA could end up being Findlay’s most powerful weapon!

Harv Oberfeld

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