The Kovalchuk Contract Saga Continues On

If patience wasn’t already wearing thin with regard to the Ilya Kovalchuk and New Jersey Devils contract situation, the NHL and NHLPA have allotted two more days of frustration before rendering their decision regarding the deal's legality under the collective bargaining agreement. An originally set deadline of 5 p.m. on Wednesday evening was extended just prior to that cutoff time by both parties, opting instead to mull over this decision until 5 p.m. on Friday.

"We remain confident that the terms of this contract comply, in every respect, with the CBA and meet both the NHL’s concerns and the principles of arbitrator Bloch’s decision," Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement released by the team. "We remain optimistic that this extension will result in an approval of the contract and that Ilya Kovalchuk will remain a valuable member of the Devils for the balance of his career."

The Devils and Kovalchuk were forced back to the drawing board when a $102 million over 17 years was challenged by the NHL and rendered null and void by Arbitrator Richard Bloch. The deal was deemed a “retirement contract” that would never reach its conclusion, artificially lowered the salary cap hit with just $3.5 million set to be paid out in the final six years of the contract, and included a no-movement/no-trade clause shifting that would have given the Devils an “out” of the contract.

What General Manager Lou Lamoriello and Kovalchuk’s representatives came up with was a deal two years shorter and worth $2 million less than the original. According to sportsnet.ca’s Nick Kypreos, the new deal submitted to the NHL on Friday consists of $100 million over 15 seasons and includes a salary cap hit of $6.67 million, as opposed to the $6 million in the original offer. Additionally, the contract would expire when Kovalchuk is 42 years old instead of the 44-year old concluding age in the original.

The year-by-year breakdown of the new proposal is as follows:

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11 million
2013-14: $11.3 million
2014-15: $11.3 million
2015-16: $11.6 million
2016-17: $11.8 million
2017-18: $10 million
2018-19: $7 million
2019-20: $4 million
2020-21: $1 million
2021-22: $1 million
2022-23: $1 million
2023-24: $3 million
2024-25: $4 million

While the point of this contract is essentially the same as the first one - get Kovalchuk under contract for the money he wants at an affordable cap hit to the team, it is more in line with other approved deals of this nature, does not go under $1 million in any given season and pays out reasonable salaries in the final few years. There is no word yet on any kind of no-movement or no-trade clause, which was a pretty big sticking point to Bloch in the old offer.

If the NHL chooses to challenge this contract, as well, and either the NHLPA does not file another grievance or fails in doing so, there is a strong chance the 27-year old sniper will return to his native country of Russia and play in the Kontinental Hockey League next season. Kovalchuk's Russian agent Yuri Nikolaev has already stated that Kovalchuk will spend at least one full season in Russia if he signs a deal in the KHL, meaning there will be no out-clause in his deal to return to the NHL at some point during the 2010-11 campaign. SKA St. Petersburgh is the most likely team to sign Kovalchuk and is believed to already have a big offer on the table for Kovalchuk's services.

If the deal is approved, then the Devils will need to act quickly in shedding just under $4 million in salary to become cap compliant for next season. They can remain 10 percent over the $59.4 million ceiling ahead of the start of the regular season on Oct. 7, giving them just over a month to clear salary.