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New deal made possible after NHL and players association come to agreement

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NHL training camps will be opening soon, and still the Ilya Kovalchuk story continued. But just before 3 a.m. early Saturday morning, Kovalchuk's 15-year, $100 million contract with the New Jersey Devils was accepted and registered by the league.

After working through the night, nearly 10 hours beyond their deadline, the league and its Players Association completed the paperwork on an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement that was tied to Kovalchuk's approval.

According to the New York Daily News, it took a two-day extension and then the extra 10 hours for this contract — the second one submitted to the league — to get registered. Before that could happen, the NHL and the NHL Players Association had to amend their current collective bargaining agreement.

NorthJersey.com reports that approving the 27-year-old left wing's contract and ending the league's investigations into similar long-term contracts to players such as Chicago's Marian Hossa and Vancouver's Roberto Luongo was part of Friday's agreement. The New Jersey Devils could still be penalized, including a fine of up to $5 million, for having their first contract with Kovalchuk ruled to be a circumvention of the salary cap on Aug. 9 by arbitrator Richard Bloch.

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New Jersey Devils President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement at nhl.com that the team was very pleased with this decision which will see Ilya Kovalchuk remain a valuable member of the Devils. Lamoriello says that the Devils acted in good faith throughout the whole negotiation process.

The NHL rejected the team's previous contract submission, which would have paid Kovalchuk $98.5 million in its first 11 seasons, and a total of $3.5 million in its final six — suggesting it strained credulity that he would play to age 44 at near-minimum salary.

According to tsn.ca, the re-worked contract now calls for Kovalchuk to collect a reported $100 million over 15 years, with an annual cap hit of close to $6.66 million. The deal is thought to pay out $90 million in the first 10 years and $10 million over the last five.

Now the Devils must cut $3-6 million in salary cap liability from their roster by opening night. The New York Post reports that Kovalchuk is expected to return to New Jersey next week for the Sept. 17 opening of training camp after a charity game in Russia this weekend.

Kovalchuk is regarded as the NHL's best-ever free agent, and even the Russian Kontinental league continuously pursued him to be their Bobby Hull of the WHA.