Kovalchuk deal voided by NHL; involved parties scramble for PR dominance as everyone else laughs
by Donny Rivette on Jul 21, 2010 12:02 AM EDT
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The Story So Far (as of 12am EST):
TSN Insider Darren Dreger explains that the (Ilya Kovalchuk) deal was rejected due to the fact that the NHL does not believe that either Kovalchuk nor the Devils expected the 2004 Rocket Richard trophy winner would be playing near end of the contract and that it is a case of artificially lowering the annual average value of the contract. The Devils must now either file the contract once again or the Players' Association can file a grievance.
Should the NHLPA decide to file a grievance, the contract would remain dead until an arbitrator determines otherwise.
That arbitration option would make for an astounding ESPN hour-long spectacular. Sign me up.
The madness is still developing at this hour but John at ILWT has the likely collective opinion from Devils' fans.
No way a seventeen-year deal was going to pass without extraordinary scrutiny; evidently the league took to heart the enormous outcry for a fine-toothed-comb investigation of the contract. Hard to envision they didn't honestly see this coming from miles away, but still...there's a Collective Bargaining Agreement to protect. From a public relations perspective, if nothing else.
Of course, the good folks in SoCal are eating this up while asking for a healthy dose of seconds. And after the on-again, off-again dance the Kings were subjected to, who can blame the fans?
More reaction from around The Nation can be found here.
Any surprise at this development? And whether legal CBA-wise or not (and apparently, it's not - at least this very moment while the Bettman crew attempts to save face), what do these uber-contracts really mean over the long run for clubs like the Panthers? Can you even imagine such a deal in Sunrise in the post-Valeri Bure's-brother-era?
UPDATE: an excellent summary of the situation by the Globe and Mail's Eric Duhatschek here.
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CONSPIRACY WARNING: If this wasn’t precisely what he was looking for…
Just. Never. Know.
by Donny Rivette on Jul 21, 2010 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Word is it was ownership’s doing, not Lou’s.
Florida Panthers: Giving the league a punching bag since 2000.
by John Beatty on Jul 21, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Undoubtedly. The precedent for this type of contract already exists…
by Donny Rivette on Jul 21, 2010 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions
the Dipietro contract may have been stupid and ill advised but its very much legal since he gets paid a consistent salary throughout, unlike Kovalchuk who gets paid $95 million for 10 years and $7 million for the other 7 years
by HockeyAndLoathing on Jul 21, 2010 12:52 PM EDT reply actions
But the Hossa, Pronger, and Luongo deals are similarly structured.
by Donny Rivette on Jul 21, 2010 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m no fan of these franchise-killers either; problem is that they’ve allowed it previously. Seems a bit hypocritical.
by Donny Rivette on Jul 21, 2010 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, the difference is that no one thinks Kovy’s going to play until he’s 44. One can make a reasonable case that Pronger will play to 42. And a slightly less reasonable case that Hossa will play to 42. In any case, the investigations were whether early retirement was brought up in negotiations. And I think it’s the five years at less than $1mil a year that were the sticking point for Koovalchuk’s contract. It’s only two for Pronger, in two years where it’s likely he’ll still be playing, but be more of a mentor and less of a workhorse number-one guy.
Florida Panthers: Giving the league a punching bag since 2000.
the contract was ridiculous.
as much i hate to go through this “oh where he’ll sign and with who” soap opera again (since i know it will still end a way that will make me unhappy) and as much as this is making me laugh at the same time, i think they kinda had to do something to maintain some kind of credibility…
Мы в любовь играли,
И как кровь из вены капает слеза.
One more year!
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