It took a long time for 27 year old Russian sniper Ilya Kovalchuk to sign a contract. When he finally did, it was a gigantic one, 17 years and $102 million dollars with the New Jersey Devils. It was the longest current contract among NHL players, and even though Kovalchuk was presented in a press conference as a lifetime Devil, there was speculation the massive contract might be rejected by the NHL. And just hours after the press conference, it was. On July 26, 2010, the NHLPA filed a grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk.
The NHL is Making an Example of the Kovalchuk Deal
The NHL claimed that the deal circumvented the salary cap, because the contract would pay Kovalchuk $95 million in the first 10 years, and just $7 million in the last seven, thus making it very top heavy, paying Kovalchuk next to nothing at the tail end of the deal. Kovalchuk stated he planned to play right to the end of the contract, but there's no way of knowing that now, and the NHL felt it was time to put a lid on the outrageous contracts popping up throughout the league. Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa to a 12 year deal worth $62.8 million dollars that some thought would be rejected for the same reasons. It wasn't. Then the Philadelphia Flyers tempted fate by signing the 35 year old Chris Pronger to 7-year deal worth $34.9 million, and it was also approved. Previous deals in the NHL such as Henrik Zetterberg with the Detroit Red Wings and Roberto Luongo with the Vancouver Canucks were also suspicious but were allowed to stand. Therefore it's believed by some that the NHL has decided to finally take a stand on these lengthy contracts, and is using Kovalchuk as an example, fair or not.
The NHLPA Filed a Grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk
The NHLPA released a statement regarding the Kovalchuk contract saying that they are disputing the contract rejection by the NHL, and the case will be placed before an arbitrator. The NHL, represented by Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, also released a statement saying they will continue to uphold their position in front of the arbitrator and there is no timetable for the matter to be resolved. It could quite a while before this situation is solved, as there needs to be an arbitrator voted in by both sides before each party can present their case. The most interesting part of the story is that if the arbitrator sides with the NHL, the contract will be made void and Kovalchuk will once again be a free agent. In other words, the hockey world might once again forced to wait for Kovalchuk to decide on a team. Maybe the Los Angeles Kings will get back into the running, or maybe the Devils will work out a new deal. Either way, the Kovalchuk saga lives on.
Marcia Di Michele - In addition to Suite101, Marcy is also a writer for TheHockeyWriters.com and blogs for Sports Illustrated's Fannation page. Marcy has been ...
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