Yeah I have a few friends that did it too. Still great money, play way less games, live in some awesome countries. Good deal. More than one haven't came back after retiring
Yeah I have a few friends that did it too. Still great money, play way less games, live in some awesome countries. Good deal. More than one haven't came back after retiring
Ditto. I've told the story a few times about someone who went to play in Germany.
If I were any good at hockey I'd do it in a heartbeat. Beats the AHL by a landslide.
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Yeah, my wife's step-brother played in the AHL before playing pro in Germany and Italy, and he has stated a lot of the same things. He said the teams really treat the players well and he was pretty much able to save all his earnings. Like here, there is also the opportunity to make money from sponsors. Someone like Matthew Phillips might not get sponsors at the NHL level, but he might somewhere like Germany. He got a deal with one of the German automobile companies and made extra money doing that.
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Originally Posted by btimbit
Yeah I have a few friends that did it too. Still great money, play way less games, live in some awesome countries. Good deal. More than one haven't came back after retiring
I know one guy who went and played in the British league.
He and another guy from Canada were so much better than 95% of that league that his schedule was play Friday and Saturday nights. Jump on the train with their team supplied Euro pass, go spend 3 or 4 days in Germany/France/Belgium/where ever, come back and practice on Thursday, play Friday and Saturday nights.....rinse and repeat.
also, European clubs pay for your automobile, your housing, your taxes, your insurance, AND your airline tickets. Thus you should only spend about 10 to 15% of what you earn, allowing you to bank the rest!
Do they not have taxable benefits in these countries?
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Do they not have taxable benefits in these countries?
Of course. They pay a lot of taxes but still cheaper than being out of pocket yourself for some of these expenses.
The only downside to playing in Europe, or I suppose chasing your hockey dream in general, is the delay in achieving your long term goals. I had a good friend who played in Austria and Germany. Made nice money and really enjoyed. Came back here to start his “white collar” career and found it challenging to be 10 years behind his peers.
Now he’s not Matthew Phillips. Phillips with his NHL experience and skills will be in demand and I imagine get paid quite well wherever he plays.
Seriously, Conroy dodged a bullet on the two-year (second year one-way) contract he offered Phillips last summer.
Yeah, and Phillips likely cost himself a decent chunk of cash when he looks back at his total career earnings. I don't blame him though. He has a dream to be an NHL player and took the contract in a location that he thought would give him the best chance for that. If you never try, you never know.
I wonder what he does now. He could probably try his luck in the KHL and maybe make some really good money there. But then he has to live in Russia. Or maybe another European league would be good, like in Sweden, Czechia, Germany, or Switzerland. I don't think they make as much as in the KHL, but living in a beautiful European country has its own rewards. Or maybe the life of an AHL vet suits him fine. You can still make decent money playing hockey and possibly get a few more call ups to the NHL.
I wouldn't mind seeing him back with the Wranglers. The farm has some openings for vets and could use some skill. I'd be all for giving him a 2-way deal with a decent AHL base salary.
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