Kovalchuk decision will likely wait until final day

Its 8 PM now and no news on the Kovalchuk front, which likely means the NHL will use the full five days to make a decision. TSN's Darren Dreger believes that the fact the league is taking the full five days to review the contract could be a huge indicator that they are trying to fin every reason to reject this deal, which is likely going to mean the end of Kovalchuk for the Devils unless they find a way to sign him next offseason. Unless the NHL approves this deal, which is likely since no decision has been made yet, Ilya is headed to the KHL at least for this year since the market for him in the NHL is very limited or none. However, this is what one NHL GM told Dreger that he thinks this might not pass. My feeling is that it will get passed, but Dreger also mentioned the possibility of discipline against the Devils which could force them to trade more of their players should the Kovalchuk verdict go in their favor. We shall see tomorrow, which is likely the final day in the Kovalchuk Saga.

Devils, Fans, NHL Execs Await Kovalchuk verdict

Yay or Nay? That is the question everyone is pondering of whether the NHL is going to accept or reject the latest Kovalchuk contract. Its 12:30 PM right now and no verdict has been announced, but Tom Gulitti said its very likely to come sometime today, but the NHL has til tomorrow Wednesday 5 PM to announce the decision. Everyone is definitely having anxiety attacks on this matter. Richard Bloch's arbitration verdict was announced about an hour past the deadline, so if the league will take til tomorrow to announce it, there is a chance it won't publicly be disclosed until 6 PM. Hopefully today is the day though.

Per Tom Gulitti: Kovalchuk decision likely Tuesday

Thank you to Tom Gulitti of the North Jersey Record, all signs point to the decision Kovalchuk's 15 year deal being announced on Tuesday though it does have until 5 pm Wednesday to do it otherwise the contract would have to be registered. The NHL reportedly according to TG spent most of today reviewing the deal and could have informally submitted a letter with their decision to the Devils management. Nobody from the Devils was left to comment on any of the matters. It seems the last few years of the deal addressed all the concerns raised by the league and arbitrator Richard Bloch, so should be an interesting Tuesday if we do find out their decision. The Devils Fans are still holding their breath. It would be unlawful for the league to reject the deal since it knows that this saga will be an important ammunition for the NHLPA in the next round of collective bargaining scheduled to take place sometime in 2012.

No Decision Today on Kovalchuk

It seems very likely that the NHL will take the full five days to review and decide the validity of the new 15 year $100 million contract Kovalchuk signed on Friday afternoon. The NHL has until 5 PM Wednesday to approve or reject the contract. Both the Devils and the Fans want to know sooner, so it might happen Tuesday, but Wednesday seems more likely since the league has not given any indication of when a ruling will come down. Although reports are surfacing that the final 3 years of this 15 year deal will average around $2.6 million almost a $2 million dollar increase over the final 3 years of the 17 year pact he initially agreed to.

So What is the hold up? Maybe the league decided not to look into it at all during the weekend since it has until Wednesday. If they already have a decision in mind, they probably are waiting til Wednesday since it is no different from announcing on Tuesday than it would on Wednesday. We shall see, although the language of this contract is definitely better than the 17 year one. The length of the contract is the only thing that could force the league to reject it again, but I do not think they will, but it will be interesting to hear their explanation if they do indeed add another chapter to this saga, which is killing Gary Bettman's and the NHL's reputation. My adversary Scott Burnside of ESPN will definitely try to drill the Devils on this one.

Notes: The Rangers today signed free agent winger Tim Kennedy to a one-year-deal. They might use him at center as well. The Rangers still need to sign Marc Staal to a new contract and apparently are not close on that front. Teams could be lining up for offer sheets on Staal. Free Agent winger Lee Stempniak signed a two-year deal to stay in Phoenix. Stempniak was the steal of the trade deadline this past season.

NHL unlikely to make Kovalchuk decision until Monday

According to TSN's Darren Dreger and one high ranking official from the NHL office, the National Hockey League will not make a decision whether to approve or reject the latest Kovalchuk contract which is 15 years at $100 million until Monday at the earliest. Things could still change and we might know sooner, but for now the saga continues. The NHL has by early afternoon Wednesday to make a decision, but its likely to make one on Monday since they would already have all weekend to review the deal.

Notes: The Leafs have added some toughness today signing forward Clarke MacArthur to a one-year deal. MacArthur can also add some scoring punch.

Leafs, Lightning complete minor swap

This blog is not only about Kovalchuk or Devils, its NHL related. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lighting have completed a minor trade with Tampa sending defenseman Matt Lashoff a former Boston Bruins first round pick in 2005 to the Leafs for forward Alex Berry and Stefano Giliati. This is a pretty good pickup for the Leafs considering they need depth on defense which was horrible this past season.

Speaking of Kovalchuk, the contract is said to be a 15 year deal worth $100 million with a cap hit of $6.6 million. I know it might be a lengthy contract for the league to approve, but this addressed that stupid term cap circumvention. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the NHL ok's the deal, which according to multiple sources is expected it will.

NHL reviewing modified contract for Ilya Kovlalchuk

Do not jump to conclusions quickly, but multiple sources are reporting that the Devils have submitted a contract to the league, which is expected to finally pass. The Saga is not over as there has been no comment from the NHL, the Devils or Kovalchuk's North America based agent Jay Grossman. It seems that the report that Kovalchuk gave a deadline to the NHL might have been true or it was just a bluff. No terms of the possible new modified contract have been released. One thing is for sure, this Saga has probably been a huge distraction to hockey fans and all like me want to see this come to an end quickly. It was sort of a distraction during my trip to Europe, because at one point I was excited and then the next I was sort of acting oblivious about it. Lets hope this report is the real deal.

Kovalchuk reportedly considering KHL, but Devils remain 1st option

According to Puck Daddy's Dmitry Chesnokov, Ilya Kovalchuk has reportedly set a deadline of 24-48 hours for the NHL to approve any of the frameworks that were submitted by the Devils or else he will consider at least starting or playing the season or even more in the KHL. As I have mentioned the KHL season starts on Thursday September 8th, so time is of the essence in this dispute or standoff. Neither the Kovalchuk camp or any of the Devils and NHL representatives would confirm his ultimatum, so this could just be a negotiating tactic or getting the NHL to blink.

Notes: The Devils today signed 9 players to two-way contracts. They are Tyler Eckford, Olivier Magnan-Grenier, Patrick Davis, Mark Fayne, Stephen Gionta, Tim Sestito, Harry Young, Jean-Sebastien Berube and Chad Wiseman. Eckford, Davis, Sestito and Berube all have a good shot to make NHL roster, but its likely that incoming prospects like Mattias Tedenby, Jacob Josefson and Adam Henrique are likely to make the team.

The Devils projected line-up if Kovalchuk ends up signing with them is:

Forwards:

Parise Zajac Langenbrunner
Kovalchuk Arnott Elias
Tedenby Josefson Clarkson
Pelley Zubrus Henrique
Extra Forwards: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Vladimir Zharkov

Defense:

Greene Volchenkov
Salvador Tallinder
White Corrente
Extra D-Men: Anssi Salmela, Mark Fraser

Goaltenders:

Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg

Donald Fehr is new NHLPA Executive Director (Pending Panel Approval)

Former Major League Players Association head Donald Fehr has decided to accept the same job with the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA). If this report is true, Fehr would have to be confirmed by the NHLPA executive committee and board. Fehr would succeed Paul Kelly, who was fired from the job last year for hacking into player emails and not representing some of their values. This might not be good news for the NHL in the next round of Collective Bargaining talks since it was Fehr who has created this inflated salary landscape in baseball and the reason players like Alex Rodriguez can sign a deal for 10 years at $275 million annually. The current CBA expires in September 2012, so the league and PA might want to start their CBA or Collective Bargaining Agreement Talks early if Fehr is confirmed.

Devils, NHL in race against time to resolve Kovalchuk dispute

After all the conflicting reports surrounding a possible second rejection of a contract, we know one thin; The KHL is making a last ditch aggressive push to lure him back to Russia. Gary Bettman, today denied the claims that he rejected a second contract saying that no contract has actually been submitted for approval. In order for a contract to be approved, it has to be signed by the player and then submitted. The KHL season begins September 8th, so say what you want, it seems very likely that if the all the sides involved fail to reach some sort of compromise or come even close to reaching one by mid next week, Kovalchuk is likely to seriously consider bolting for Russia, unless another NHL team other than the Devils slips in with a last second lucrative offer he cannot refuse. The KHL is reportedly offering him the same 17 year deal the Devils signed him to before the NHL rejected it, but he can choose any team he wants to sign with which is likely to be SKA St. Petersburg, a team that will likely be the NY Yankees of the KHL. I will say this, the NHL will eventually have to approve some sort of deal even though it might not like it.

Note: Some Devils fans are claiming that the NHL does not want Kovalchuk to play for the Devils. I can tell you that it is completely and utterly untrue, the NHL is simply trying to ensure the economic and financial stability of the NHL and is currently investigating other long-term front-loaded contracts, which means a player will make most of the total value of the contract over the first 3/4 of the term of the deal. So, Kovalchuk and the Devils are not alone. Yes, the NHL maybe all about Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin and Kane and Toews, but Kovalchuk is definitely in the same league as them and would definitely help the Devils in all aspects.

Note 2: Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks signed a 12 year pact worth in the neighborhood of $63 million annually, but will make most of his money in the first 7 years of the deal, but the cap hit will remain about $5.3 million dollars even if he is slated to make $750K in one of those years. His contract along with others are currently under investigation and teams could face fines and loss of draft picks and cap space if found guilty. The NHL will likely not penalize the Devils financially, but loss of a draft pick is possible if the league fines the Blackhawks for Hossa, the Flyers for Pronger and Vancouver for Luongo as well as other contracts.

NHL reportedly rejects latest Kovalchuk Framework

It looks like the longer the Kovalchuk Saga goes on, the more likely he might consider playing at least this season in the KHL in Russia. The National Hockey League has rejected the framework of the new deal discussed at Monday's meeting forcing the Devils and Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman to go back to work. They are now working on another revised deal which they hope can be one the league approves. With all this drama unfolding, it seems the window of opportunity for Kovalchuk to stay in the NHL is closing because the KHL's season starts on September 8th, while the NHL training camps don't open until September 17th and the season starts on October 7th. However, teams have until sometime between the 3rd and 5th of October to get under the salary cap, something that would be very catastrophic to the Devils if the Kovalchuk saga keeps ongoing, which will definitely not happen, but imagine if it did. The Devils might be forced to forfeit games because they are not compliant with the NHL salary cap regulations. So, either way look for this saga to be over by weeks end, but definitely before labor day as the Devils need all the time they can get to make some trades to accommodate Kovalchuk. Its also possible they might try to sign star winger Zach Parise to an extension.

Kovalchuk's Cap Hit rumored to be between $6.5-$7 million

While there are conflicting reports on whether a contract offer has been submitted for league approval, the new Kovalchuk contract according to reports out of Russia is estimated to be at 12-13 year deal worth between $84-$91 million a steady rise from original 17 year/$102 million dollar deal. So we should probably have closure tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. We shall see, but this could be a good week to be a Devils fan. Once the Kovalchuk saga ends expect free agents like Paul Kariya, Lee Stempniak and Mike Comrie to sign with teams.

Kovalchuk saga will end this week

Unless something bizarre happens in the next 24-48 hours, Ilya Kovalchuk is all but set to sign a reworked and modified contract with the Devils ending once of the most unusual offseason dramas in recent years. The deal will likely force the Devils to make several moves to clear cap space in order to accommodate Kovalchuk. While no contract has been submitted for league approval, it is expected that the Devils and Kovalchuk will do that on Tuesday.

Here are the Devils players likely to be shipped:

Brian Rolston
Patrik Elias
Bryce Salvador
Colin White
Dainius Zubrus
David Clarkson

Rolston, Elais and White have No Trade Clauses but it appears that Brian Rolston's days with the Devils are numbered. So unless Lou uses his creativity expect lots of trades from the Devils in the coming weeks. Prospects and draft picks are the likely returns value in every deal except for Elias, which could be worth a top prospect and a high draft pick in return.

Report: Devils, Kovalchuk agree on new contract pending League Approval

ESPN's E.J. Hradek and Puck Daddy's Dmitry Chesnokov are reporting that Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and Owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek met with NHL officials in New York today to discuss the contract and that a decision by the NHL is expected withing 24-48 hours at most. So now the question is, will the saga finally come to a close this week? We shall find out by tonight or tomorrow likely. I highly doubt the NHL would want to drag this saga further since the fans like me are relentlessly tired of this soap opera. Devils are not expected to announce any new deal until the league approves it this time around. There is also no word on the terms of the new deal as that will likely be revealed when the league approves it. The Devils held the Kovalchuk press conference already knowing his initial 17 year $102 million dollar deal had been rejected. They got official word that night for the league the contract was rejected and it was voided by system arbitrator Richard Bloch. Stay tuned! But based on this news, Devils fans have a small reason to be elated for now.

Devils Preview (2010-2011)

It was another disappointing end to another great season as the Devils failed to advance out of Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a 3rd straight year. This time it was in the hands of their fiercest division rival Philadelphia Flyers. This meant that major changes needed to be made to improve the Devils to avoid a disastrous 4th consecutive 1st round ouster.

The 2009-2010 Devils had little to no expectations after losing Brian Gionta and John Madden to the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks respectively. However, in New Jersey expectations are always high mainly due to the greatest goaltender of all time Marty Brodeur. The team started the year strong, but started to falter down the stretch. The Devils acquired atar sniper Ilya Kovalchuk due to their late season offensive struggles but still were unable to advance. The Canadiens and Blackhawks did very well in the playoffs as Montreal went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals only to fall to the Flyers and the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals to win the title. So it was very unpleasant for the Devils to watch their former players like Scott Niedermayer in 2007 with Anaheim, Brian Rafalski in 2008 with Detroit and now John Madden with Chicago win the Stanley Cup and players like Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta come close with other teams.

So What was wrong with the Devils all these years? Well the Devils have started out every season since the lockout ended pretty strong with the exception of the 2005-2006 campaign where it was a disastrous start, but the Devils rallied to win the Atlantic Division with 11 straight wins to end the season followed by a 4 game sweep in the playoffs of division rival Rangers. However, in 2007, the Devils underwent a face-lift as core players like Soctt Gomez and Brian Rafalski chose to leave the Devils one summer after future Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer left via Free Agency. GM Lou Lamoriello decided it was best to continue to develop from within thus staying the course and continuing the teams tradition of standing pat on the Free Agency front.

However, this year will be different as the Devils decided to shore up its defensive corps by bringing in the NHL's leading shot blocker in Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder as well as a more experienced backup goaltender in Johan Hedberg. The Devils also brought back 2000 cup hero Jason Arnott. Now all that remains to answer is what will happen with Ilya Kovalchuk, which looks like a soap opera. However, with or without Kovalchuk the Devils are an improved team with more size on defense despite losing another core defenseman in Paul Martin to division rival Pittsburgh. The Devils have to learn how to manage wins and loses and the timing that comes with them. Maybe its best if they get of to a neutral start and finish strong at the time it counts most. Then I think they can make a long cup run.

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Is the Kovalchuk Saga finally nearing its end?

On July 19, 2010 Free Agent Forward Ilya Kovalchuk signed one of the largest contracts in professional sports. It was a 17 year deal worth $102 million dollars annually to remain with the New Jersey Devils hockey club. However, later that night the National Hockey League decided to reject the contract citing that it circumvents the NHL Salary Cap. What is Cap Circumvention? Well the Devils signed him to that lengthy contract to avoid a large cap hit. The hit would only be $6 million, however Kovalchuk would have made $95 million in the first 11 years of the deal and only $7 million in the final 6. So, the years in which he was only to make $750,000, the cap hit would remain $6 million. The NHL also felt that Kovalchuk would retire long before the contract would expire leaving the Devils liable for a $6 million dollar cap hit once he turns 35 years old. The deal would expire when Kovalchuk would be 44 years old.

This rejection set off a battle between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA), where the PA filed a grievance against the NHL for rejecting the contract, where if a system arbitrator that being Richard Bloch had to either rule in favor of it or against it. He ended up upholding the league's rejection making Kovalchuk a free agent once again. Now the New Jersey Devils with the very limited cap space they have left have to rework the contract for a less favorable cap hit or risk losing him for good to either another NHL team, possibly the Los Angeles Kings or the KHL or Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. It seems that the Saga is nearing an end and looks like Kovalchuk will still end up remaining a Devil, but it is definitely not a slam dunk. Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello has coined the phrase "Status Quo" when referring to the Kovalchuk negotiations, which did him well when he signed the initial rejected 17 year deal with New Jersey. But it appears that this week a new deal could be agreed upon. The NHL is currently investigating other contracts like Marian Hossa, Chris Pronger, Marc Savard and Roberto Luongo along with others who also might be circumventing the salary cap or go to an age beyond 40.

In this saga you can ask one question:

Does the NHL have a bias against the Devils?

-Maybe they do, since the Devils play a very defensive style of hockey and that might not bode well for a player of Kovalchuk's caliber and might hurt the NHL's marketing department since they are focused on stars like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kane and Toews as well as Zetterberg and Datsyuk along with Kovalchuk. But this new NHL after the canceled season in 2004-2005 is all about trying to put some of those names on the cup and they already did with Crosby and Malkin in 2009, Zetterberg and Datsyuk in 2008, and Kane and Toews this season. Ovechkin and Kovalchuk remain in limbo, but the question is does the NHL want Kovy to win it with the Devils or a team that has a hotter marketing commodity? We shall see.