There is no simple formula here folks, and as much as some might like to look down their noses at cities like Edmonton and Winnipeg from their Calgary perch, I can guarantee you that if Calgary had historical performance issues, management problems, salary and tax issues, media problems, etc. like some of these teams have, Calgary would have been mentioned as well. Hey, I like Calgary, it's my hometown, but I also know from firsthand experience that life in cities like Buffalo, for example, isn't nearly as awful as its reputation, and that Calgary isn't nearly as wonderful as many of you would like to think.
The irony of players not wanting to play in certain cities because of weather, but make their millions off playing the 'coolest game on Earth' and essentially need ice to sustain their livelihoods is fun to observe.
The irony of players not wanting to play in certain cities because of weather, but make their millions off playing the 'coolest game on Earth' and essentially need ice to sustain their livelihoods is fun to observe.
Oh man, 'weather' is a euphemism. When a player cites 'weather' as the reason they dont want to play somewhere it really just means they dont want to be there but are being polite enough to not want to blame or publicize as to why.
You think some Russian or Canadian guy is going to turn someplace down because of weather?
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Oh man, 'weather' is a euphemism. When a player cites 'weather' as the reason they dont want to play somewhere it really just means they dont want to be there but are being polite enough to not want to blame or publicize as to why.
You think some Russian or Canadian guy is going to turn someplace down because of weather?
I would assume that has happened at some point in the history of hockey, so yes.
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Born and raised albertan.. If I could play in California for the same money, or even close (there are no "bad" NHL salaries), I probably would. I'm sure a lot of people simply hate the cold.
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Born and raised albertan.. If I could play in California for the same money, or even close (there are no "bad" NHL salaries), I probably would. I'm sure a lot of people simply hate the cold.
Ditto. House on the beach, great weather, golf year round, not even getting into the issue of taxes.
I would much rather live in Edmonton than Winnipeg. Winter weather in the Peg makes living in Alberta like California. Weather is not ultimately important for everyone given both are terrible places to live (I've work in both cities for extended periods), Edmonton at least has a lot more choices being over a mil in population compared to Winnipeg.
I still remember the days when GMs could "threaten" to trade their players to Hartford, Winnipeg, or Quebec City if they didn't improve their play.
I wonder how much do taxes play into this as well?
Not sure how the tax breakdown would go for 7 figure income earners, but there would be significant savings playing in the US as compared to Canada?
There was a post on here a few months ago about taxes in different NHL cities. Playing in Alberta is as good as it gets, tax wise. Factor in the fact players are paid in $USD and their bank accounts look pretty nice in Calgary and Edmonton.
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The weather thing is hilarious. Outside of Southern California, there aren't many places in North America with great year round weather. Almost every single city on this continent has several months per year where it is too cold, too hot, too rainy, too cloudy, too humid, etc.
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Oh man, 'weather' is a euphemism. When a player cites 'weather' as the reason they dont want to play somewhere it really just means they dont want to be there but are being polite enough to not want to blame or publicize as to why.
You think some Russian or Canadian guy is going to turn someplace down because of weather?
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Q_
The weather thing is hilarious. Outside of Southern California, there aren't many places in North America with great year round weather. Almost every single city on this continent has several months per year where it is too cold, too hot, too rainy, too cloudy, too humid, etc.
And yet millions of Canadians vacation and retire in California, Texas, Florida, Carolina, and Nevada. Weather matters to people. And even if it doesn't matter to the players, who are on the road half the season, it probably matters to their families.
Which is another aspect of this people don't like to talk about - I'd guess close to half of NHLers today are married to Americans. Most of those women want to stay close to their families, and they don't want to live in a foreign country. If people think Chris Pronger's wife is the only hockey spouse who has put her foot down about where her husband would play, they're kidding themselves.
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And yet millions of Canadians vacation and retire in California, Texas, Florida, Carolina, and Nevada. Weather matters to people. And even if it doesn't matter to the players, who are on the road half the season, it probably matters to their families.
Which is another aspect of this people don't like to talk about - I'd guess close to half of NHLers today are married to Americans. Most of those women want to stay close to their families, and they don't want to live in a foreign country. If people think Chris Pronger's wife is the only hockey spouse who has put her foot down about where her husband would play, they're kidding themselves.
And yet millions of Canadians vacation and retire in California, Texas, Florida, Carolina, and Nevada. Weather matters to people. And even if it doesn't matter to the players, who are on the road half the season, it probably matters to their families.
Which is another aspect of this people don't like to talk about - I'd guess close to half of NHLers today are married to Americans. Most of those women want to stay close to their families, and they don't want to live in a foreign country. If people think Chris Pronger's wife is the only hockey spouse who has put her foot down about where her husband would play, they're kidding themselves.
Yeah I know it happens, but I think Americans are literally the only people on the face of the earth with that mindset. A girl from New York is "closer to home" living in Los Angeles or Dallas compared to say Toronto or Montreal? It's so weird.
As a Calgarian, Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Miami, Paris, Tokyo, or whatever are all foreign to me. So outside of living in Calgary, it doesn't matter to me whether I live in a foreign country or just a foreign city. What a closed minded concept to base your life around.
The weather thing is hilarious. Outside of Southern California, there aren't many places in North America with great year round weather. Almost every single city on this continent has several months per year where it is too cold, too hot, too rainy, too cloudy, too humid, etc.
It doesn't have to be great year round. Just from September to May/June.
So you can add Arizona, TB, Florida, Dallas, etc to the list of good weather too.
Yeah I know it happens, but I think Americans are literally the only people on the face of the earth with that mindset. A girl from New York is "closer to home" living in Los Angeles or Dallas compared to say Toronto or Montreal? It's so weird.
As a Calgarian, Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Miami, Paris, Tokyo, or whatever are all foreign to me. So outside of living in Calgary, it doesn't matter to me whether I live in a foreign country or just a foreign city. What a closed minded concept to base your life around.
Trying to apply common sense and logic to a woman's decision-making process is like trying to solve algebra with an orange.
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