Quote:
Originally Posted by DiracSpike
Players don't want to play in Canadian markets because they don't like cold, small, heavily taxed cities. Not because of mean comments. Have you met an east coast hockey fan? They're crazy and much more mean than Canadian fans. My friend lives in NYC and can't wear his Flames jersey to any of the games when the team is in town because of how stupid people there are.
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To be fair, it depends where you live in the States. If you live in California, your cost of living is easily higher than anywhere in Canada.
But remember that these players are multimillionaires. They're basically set for life unless they make some really dumb financial decisions with all of their earnings, the point about taxes isn't that important.
We also have to remember that Canada's approach to COVID may have also impacted Gaudreau's decision to re-sign or not with Calgary. For a long time he was unable to see his aging parents and partner. My sister's partner is American, and they were forced to live apart for a while, with it being very difficult for her partner to come to Canada for a while. You try living away from your partner for a while and not end up feeling lonely. Even though these are pro athletes, remember that they also have personal lives too that are important. Canada just isn't as desirable of a location anymore for people to live, and even after COVID things don't seem so cheery. Can you really blame a player with no roots here for wanting to return closer to home to be with their loved ones?
I think Gaudreau and other American players (that would likely follow his lead) have families too and maybe they realize that winning the Stanley Cup isn't the be all end all (and who knows, maybe a young and upcoming team where they sign will eventually win the Cup). They have other priorities in life.
Sort of difficult to justify living thousands of kilometres away from family, especially when your parents get older and start to have health problems, or you are starting your own family, just to pursue that slim chance of winning the cup while playing in the same division as McDavid. I'm sure this was a very difficult decision for Gaudreau to make, but ultimately we have to respect his decision. I just wish that he had made his intentions clearer with this organization 1 year ago so the Flames could have at least gotten back some value for him in a trade.