Sam Bennett: Shohei Ohtani’s contract could help the Habs lure him to Quebec

However, there’s also the possibility that this center player could land via the autonomy market rather than via a trade. And if John Tavares is a popular name, Sam Bennett is even more so.

The problem with Bennett is that it will be difficult to convince him to come to town for tax reasons. After all, a player in Florida loses a lot less money than a player in Montreal from a tax standpoint… but even so, there are ways around all that.

Nicolas Cloutier (TVA Sports), who spoke to an expert in sports taxation, wrote an excellent paper on the subject… and what we understand is that there are avenues the Habs could consider to try and convince Bennett.

And among them is… Shohei Ohtani’s contract.

For those less familiar with Ohtani, who is a baseball superstar, the Japanese signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The most striking aspect of this contract is that, over the 10 years of his contract, the Dodgers will pay him a grand total of… $20 million.

How is that possible? That’s where the notion of deferred money comes in.

The remaining $680 million will be paid to Ohtani within 10 years of the end of his contract. So, he’ll get almost all of his money after the 10 years of his contract, and that’s good for everyone: he’s already making so much money in sponsorships that he doesn’t need that money right away, plus it allows the Dodgers to look for other big players to surround him.

Bennett’s case is different, since he won’t be getting the tens of millions Ohtani is in sponsorship. That said, if a substantial portion of his contract money is paid to him after his contract is up, he’ll be able to reduce the amount of money he pays in taxes.

Frank Vatrano of the Anaheim Ducks did much the same thing: a good portion of his money will be paid to him when he’s away from California.

What Cloutier notes, however, is that the NHL doesn’t like to play in these areas. Deferred money could be a prohibited practice in the next collective agreement… but right now, it’s still legal.

So it could be an option the Habs would consider if they wanted to try and convince Bennett to sign in town. We don’t know if the forward would be interested in such a contract, but it’s an asset they can keep in their pocket to try and convince him.

Let’s see where this goes.

Overtime

– Worlds: Canada defeats France. Two goals for Bo Horvat and a (magnificent) goal for Sidney Crosby.

– Huge news in Major League Baseball.

– Whew.

– Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon last night. His current series is over and he could miss all of next season.