If you were an NHL player, which team would you veto a trade to?

When NHL players with certain contractual rights hammer out the details of their no-trade clauses, they must only specify which teams they are willing or not willing to be dealt to. They don’t need to specify why.

Safe to say, though, there are certain criteria that would weigh heavily on the minds of most players.

With that in mind, here’s a ranking of NHL teams that players would be least likely to veto a trade to.

The list takes four factors into consideration: Local income taxes, weather, nightlife and competitiveness of the team.

The tax ranking was determined by the income tax rate of the state or province where the team is located.

The weather ranking is more subjective, of course. Some people like the sun. Some people like the snow. For simplicity sake, teams were ranked by average January temperature.

Nightlife rankings come from a list of the most fun cities in the United States complied by wallethub.com and a list of the most fun cities in Canada compiled by travel2next.com.

Competitiveness rankings were determined by the Vegas odds to win the 2020 Stanley Cup.

All 31 teams were ranked in each category, then the rankings were added up to formulate a final score.

Taking all those factors into consideration, NHL players are least likely to veto a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights this summer. They finished in the top six in all four categories. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars round out the top four.

Those teams hold such a lofty position for one major reason, and it’s a reason well-paid professional athletes surely take very seriously: Nevada, Florida and Texas have no state income tax.

Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver that otherwise would be among the most desirable places to play in the league are hurt badly by their local tax rates.

Players are most likely to veto a trade to Buffalo, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Edmonton. In addition to onerous tax rates, all five cities also lost points due to weather.

In an unexpected twist, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia finished tied at 10th on the list. Philadelphia fared a little better in weather and fun. Pittsburgh fared better in 2020 championship odds.

Penguins winger Phil Kessel reportedly used the no-trade clause in his contract to nix a recent trade to Minnesota. The numbers back up his apprehensiveness. Minnesota is saddled with high taxes, cold weather and the 20th-best chance to win the Stanley Cup next season.

Here’s the list:

1. Vegas

2. Tampa Bay

3. Florida

4. Colorado

5. Dallas

6. Nashville

7. Washington

8. New York Islanders

9. St. Louis

10. Philadelphia

10. Pittsburgh

12. Boston

13. Chicago

14. Arizona

15. Carolina

16. Toronto

17. New York Rangers

18. Columbus

19. Los Angeles

20. San Jose

21. Vancouver

22. Calgary

23. Detroit

24. Minnesota

25. Anaheim

26. Montreal

27. Buffalo

28. New Jersey

29. Winnipeg

20. Ottawa

31. Edmonton