The New Jersey Devils recently signed superstar Ilya Kovalchuk to a whopping 17-year deal, making history as the longest deal in the NHL.
At least they thought they did.
After reviewing the contract, the NHL decided to reject it, claiming that the deal "circumvents the NHL's salary cap."
The NHL thinks that neither party in this deal expect Kovalchuk to play out the last seven years of his contract. They assume this because of the large drop in money he will earn after 10 years.
The deal would have seen Kovalchuk play with the Devils through the 2027-28 season, earning $95 million through the first 10 years, and $7 million during the last seven.
A deal offered by the Atlanta Thrashers earlier this summer would have seen him play only until the 2022-23 season.
Kovalchuk scored 41 goals and 44 assists last season. He has tallied 338 goals and 642 points in 621 career NHL games. He has been one of the most productive goal scorers in the NHL since the lockout, second to only Alexander Ovechkin.
This deal rejection brings up a controversial issue.
Might the NHL be considering imposing l ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Kaelan Lupton
17 Years Too Many?: NHL Erases History Rejects Kovalchuk’s Devil Deal
July 20th, 2010 by Kaelan Lupton Leave a reply »
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