Kovy decision on Monday

[dash]

I'm hoping the NHLPA wins this one...

The arbitration decision over Ilya Kovalchuk's monster contract with the New Jersey Devils will be announced Monday, as expected.

It would have been surprising if arbitrator Richard Bloch made his decision public over the weekend but there was a chance, however slim, that it could have come. Now we're left holding our breath for another day.

Bloch must deliver his ruling on the validity of Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million contract Monday.

If he says the deal is legal, the NHL must rubber-stamp the contract and Kovalchuk will stay with the Devils, presumably for a very long time. However, if Bloch says the contract was the Devils way of getting around a bigger salary cap hit, Kovalchuk goes back on the market.

That could open the door for the Los Angeles Kings, one of two reported suitors for the Russian star's services before he signed a deal with the Devils.

 

[IPostedWhat]

Kovy to KHL.

 

[pixburgher66]

i dunno...i mean...i want the NHL to win because it's only right that this be stopped, however deep down i know that the Pens could benefit from something like this with our core needing to be resigned in the future...so, one way or another i'll be pleased i guess. i dunno.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I have a bad feeling the Devils contract will stand.

 

[BostonAJ]

Number of NHL players retired before the age of 43:

Fucking everybody.

 

[dash]

Number of NHL players retired before the age of 43:

Fucking everybody.

Number of owners who approved and signed off on the current CBA:

Fucking everybody.

 

[pixburgher66]

Number of NHL players retired before the age of 43:

Fucking everybody.

the player that just WOULDNT go away, aka Chelios, disagrees.

oh, and some Howell...How? Hughes? or was it Homer? I dunno, apparently he was some "big deal" in the NHL back in the Ice Age (heh heh pun...) played until he was 52. Howe.ver, i agree, most superstars don't last nearly that long.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Players keep improving on fitness and nutrition every year, and more and more guys are playing into their forties. Look at Recchi, Lidstrom, Roloson, Modano, etc. This is the most obvious cap circumvention I have ever seen, but it is legal.

I wonder if anyone will be worried about how "unfair" the contract is if Kovie gets lazy, becomes a cancer, never plays physical again, and only pops in 30 goals a year throughout his twenties.

 

[pixburgher66]

you know, people keep saying that it's legal, but doesn't this fall under the 'blanket' rule that a team can not circumvent the cap? i mean, it seems to me it's not as much deciding whether or not circumvention is illegal as much as it is deciding if it is infact circumvention. it's just kinda sad that while we can all seemingly agree that it is cap circumvention, there's still an air of unknown about what the ruling will be.

 

[BostonAJ]

Number of owners who approved and signed off on the current CBA:

Fucking everybody.

Touche. Still surprised you're rooting for the NHLPA. We all know it's a bullshit loophole. And it can only hurt the league as a whole. The DiPietro and Yashin contracts aren't looking so hot these days. The new CBA comes up in a couple years, and I expect this to be a hot topic.

 

[dash]

Touche. Still surprised you're rooting for the NHLPA. We all know it's a bullshit loophole. And it can only hurt the league as a whole. The DiPietro and Yashin contracts aren't looking so hot these days. The new CBA comes up in a couple years, and I expect this to be a hot topic.

I agree, and that's when it should be agreed to by both parties and clearly spelled out to avoid issues like this down the road.

 

[devs30rko]

personally i look at article 26 and go, well the nhl cited this as their reason, and there is nothing stated here that you can save is knowingly violated with this contract,

so under the current rules of the CBA i say this contract is legal.
should it be? no.

but for now, it is, in my opinion.

however i'll admit i'm nervous as hell about the decision tomorrow

 

[naslundfan19]

I just want the NHLPA to win so this can be over with.

 

[HonusWagner66]

Number of owners who approved and signed off on the current CBA:

Fucking everybody.

He shoots he scores...

 

[BostonAJ]

I agree, and that's when it should be agreed to by both parties and clearly spelled out to avoid issues like this down the road.

 

[Destroydacre]

As I've said before, ruling in favor of the NHLPA will force the NHL to address this issue. I think everyone wants this type of loophole to be closed, but the NHLPA winning this one would actually be a good thing.

 

[dash]

Wasn't that the point of the previous lockout, though?!? We (the fans) lost a season of hockey because Bettman and his cronies wanted cost certainty mainly due to the fact that we know that the owners have very little self-control when it comes to player salaries. We came out of the lockout for the 2005-2006 season with a $39 million cap and five years later the cap is $59.4 million (a 52.3% increase in 5 years). Obviously, the collective genius at the league office thought that league revenues would essentially remain flat or they would not have put a percentage factor of league revenues into the current CBA for the benchmark regarding player salaries. Now, the league has a problem with the Devils contract with Kovy when previous contracts (Hossa and Luongo as two examples) have been deemed okay?!? I'm sorry, but the league and the NHLPA established the terms of the CBA and signed off on these terms, and the Kovy contract does not violate any terms of the current CBA (this "spirit of the cap" is just a load of bull and as destroy mentioned above, this is why I'm rooting for the NHLPA as it should force the league to put in actual term limits. Perhaps the longest contract you can sign going forward is 7 years and maybe front-loading of contracts should be eliminated are two things the league and players should look at.

 

[loki604]

I'm rooting for the NHLPA because I don't think this is going to work out for NJ and I think that will be fun to watch.

 

[ELYEAH82]

I am on the fence mainly because this could end up huge for the Pens if this is allowed, on the other hand I don't want to lose anymore hockey due to another work stoppage.

 

[loki604]

I am on the fence mainly because this could end up huge for the Pens if this is allowed, on the other hand I don't want to lose anymore hockey due to another work stoppage.

I know what you mean; if this is allowed, we can sign Talbot until he's fifty.