NHL commissioner Gary Bettman weighs in on Florida state taxes debate, calls it a 'ridiculous issue'

TNT NHL analyst Paul Bissonnete brought up the issue on a recent broadcast

In recent weeks, the concept of state taxes in specific NHL cities has become a hot-button issue. This came after "NHL on TNT" analyst Paul Bissonnette broached the subject during a recent broadcast in relation to the Florida Panthers players not having to pay state taxes. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman joined the network's broadcast on Monday and called it a "ridiculous" issue.

"When the Florida teams weren't good, which was for about 17 years, OK, nobody said anything about it," Bettman said prior to Game 3. "For those of you that played, were you sitting there with a tax table? No, you wanted to go to a good organization in a place you wanted to live where you wanted to raise your kids and send them to school. You wanted to play in a first-class arena with a first-class training facility with an owner, an organization, a GM and a coach that you were comfortable with."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman calls Paul Bissonnette's concern about the NHL & Florida's lack of state tax "ridiculous."

Bettman adds, "I was watching you during the prior rounds. Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your journalistic objectivity." 🏒🎙️#NHL #StanleyCup https://t.co/eLmLyNCi2c pic.twitter.com/25Tuu8gKnm

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025

Bettman even took the conversation a step further and pointed out that some cities have very high state taxes, such as Los Angeles and New York City.

"And you wanted to have good teammates so you would have a shot at winning," he said. "That's what motivates. Could it be a little bit of a factor if everything else were equal? I suppose, but that's not it. By the way, state taxes high in Los Angeles, high in New York. What are we going to do, subsidize those teams?" 

The "Sun Belt" certainly enjoyed quite a bit of NHL success recently, which may be what has led to the debate among fans and analysts alike. After all, the Panthers are currently competing in their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final and hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup last season. In addition, the Tampa Bay Lightning also made three straight Stanley Cup Finals from 2020-22 and won it all in 2020 and 2021.

While Florida enjoyed tremendous success, the Sunshine State isn't the only state that carries an advantage. The Dallas Stars don't have state taxes, but haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1998-99 and have lost in the Western Conference Final in each of the last three campaigns.