NHL insider Pierre LeBrun exposes Brady Tkachuk's feelings towards Canada
Photo credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
Brady Tkachuk's trade to the Florida Panthers keeps getting framed as a Team USA pull away from Canada.
Pierre LeBrun reported the Ottawa Senators captain wanted out of Canada, tying the move to his bond with USA Hockey teammates.
That framing has dominated the coverage since the trade closed.
The Athletic's insider put it directly.
Re Brady Tkachuk trade: "There was certainly a sense of the Team USA factor in all of this and a desire to get out of Canada."
- Pierre LeBrun
- Pierre LeBrun
Nobody has connected what Tkachuk's actual no-movement list reveals once the tax code gets involved.
Florida sent Ottawa three first-round picks and a second-round selection to complete the deal on June 21.
The four teams on Tkachuk's list all beat Ontario's tax rate
Tkachuk's no-movement clause limited his approval to four teams: the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Minnesota Wild.
Florida and Nevada both charge zero state income tax, while Ontario's combined federal and provincial top rate sits at 53.53 percent.
Vegas and Carolina were also willing landing spots the Senators discussed before Florida won out.
North Carolina's flat state rate dropped to 3.99 percent for 2026, pushing its combined top marginal rate to roughly 41 percent.
Even Minnesota, the one traditionally high-tax state on the list, still tops out below what Ontario charges.
The financial gap outweighs the patriotic story
Tkachuk's next contract is expected to land well above the $57.56 million dollar deal he signed in Ottawa.
A swing of ten or more percentage points in marginal tax rate on that scale is not a footnote.
It is millions of dollars a year staying in his pocket instead of a provincial treasury. Team USA ties and reuniting with his brother Matthew in South Florida clearly mattered as well.
But a no-movement list that quietly excludes every high-tax Canadian market suggests the calculation ran through the ledger as much as the locker room.
Steve Staios can point to draft picks and cap space all he wants.
The tax code may have made this decision easier long before LeBrun's quote ever went public.
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