We all know that the Toronto Maple Leafs, or Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) rather, are ridiculously rich. Since MLSE also owns the Marlies, that extends to them too. However, when you go down to the ECHL level, it takes a different turn. Conventional wisdom would suggest that having all 3 affiliated clubs as close as possible would be a strategic advantage, because it is easier and more time efficient to facilitate loans or other transactions between affiliated clubs. Going by this train of thought, it would be wise to target the Brampton Beast as their ECHL affiliate, however MLSE may be onto something else with the Orlando Solar Bears. The Marlies carry enough players from day to day, that they need not worry about getting a player up from Orlando quickly. The Leafs are almost entirely unaffected in terms of player recalls, because the aforementioned Marlies depth completely insulates them from any recalls from Orlando, with a goalie being the extremely rare occasion.

So we've covered why the distance from Toronto to Orlando *isn't* a problem, so what makes it an advantage? The Leafs, because of their riches, can afford to spend a lot money on AHL contract. As a result, they are the most likely to land the best AHL veterans, and the best young players willing to take AHL contracts. Some examples are Mason Marchment, who is off to a terrific start in the AHL, Kristian Pospisil, who was fantastic at training camp, Rich Clune, whose character I could write an entire article about on its own, Mattias Cleland, Joshua Winquist, Michael Paliotta, Jean Dupuy, Max Novak, Alex Gudbranson, Cal Heeter, the list goes on. Not to mention "actual prospects" J.J Piccinich and Matins Dzierkals, and briefly Vladimir Bobylev. The majority of these guys signed one year, one way AHL contracts, in the ballpark of $90k each. On the flip side, all of our great prospects mean some of these guys sit in the press box most nights, or even slide to the ECHL. A lot of players simply aren't willing to do that, so they look for teams with little depth in their position. The reason, in my opinion at least, that high caliber players are willing to play for Orlando, is because of the money. Florida has a tax rate for professional athletes of 35.18%, to Ontario's 50.13%. If one of those players was making the league average $90,000 on a 1 way contract, they would take home $13,455 more in the ECHL, than they would in the AHL. On top of that, they get to be the creme of the crop in the ECHL, and live in sunny Florida during the winter. If Toronto's ECHL affiliate was in Brampton, same situation. Even if we're comparing ECHL salaries, you take home roughly $11,250 in Orlando, versus $9,380 in Brampton. Don't be shocked by how little these guys get paid, this is before signing bonuses, and their club is contractually obligated to provide housing, rental cars, gas money, health and car insurance, the list goes on. Any and all living expenses are paid for, travel expenses, and their per diems cover the rest. By the way, a per diem is meant to cover food costs, but meals are provided by the team, and per diems are not taxed.

While it is true that some of these guys, especially the young guys, are on 2 way contracts, and the ECHL has lesser per diems, I refuse to believe anyone would rather play hockey in Brampton than Orlando, on top of taking home less money. Looking at the Leafs, or more specifically Kyle Dubas' track record of graduating prospects from the ECHL, from Byron Froese to Justin Holl to Garrett Sparks, it seems to be working, whether it was a known advantage when we first affiliated with the Solar Bears or not. If we can lure even one more NHL player to the Marlies and eventually Leafs using potential tax breaks, it's a huge, unforeseen advantage of picking the ECHL team with the coolest logo.

Looking at you, Mason Marchment.