Despite all the whining coming from New Jersey Devils fans, Gary Bettman and the NHL were completely within their rights to deem Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract null and void.
While on the surface Kovalchuk’s deal is not much different than the likes of Rick DiPietro, Roberto Luongo or Alex Ovechkin’s contracts, the fact remains that given how little Kovalchuk was meant to earn over the final years of his contract made the contract a joke, which is why the NHL gave it the boot.
Lost in all the Kovalchuk chatter is the fact that if Kovalchuk was to retire before his 17-year deal expired (which many suggest he would) whatever amount remained on his contract would NOT count against the salary cap.
The NHLPA and the p ...
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Article written by Mark Ritter