so now what happens?

THIS IS THE BIGGEST BULLL CRAP! HOW IN THE WORLD DID HOSSA’S GO THROUGH

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know exactly what the ground rules are. However, if this is at all similar to how the other major US leagues operate, there’s a special master or arbitrator to whom the Devils can appeal. If I’m Lou, I do exactly that, and I bring up the Pronger and Hossa deals as evidence in my favor. If those two deals were acceptable, I don’t see why this one wouldn’t be.

Sure, the Kovy deal probably violates the spirit of the CBA, but the NHL would have to present a better argument as to why this one is more egregious than the other two. Personally, I don’t see what legal standing the league would have.

the problem is that the kovalchuk deal goes until kovalchuk is 44. the hossa deal goes until he is 42. if kovalchuk can take a few million off the deal, a 15 year, 95 million dollar deal wouldn’t be the end of the world.

this is the most corrupt thing i have possibly ever seen. WAY past goverment stuff. this is insanity! no explenation, tsn announces it before nhl.com or anything… wheres john to bring some sense into this T_T

i was gonna order myt kovy jersey for my bday which is this saturday… now… i dont know

and/or Offer Sheets; Subsequent Challenge and/or De-
Registration of SPCs and/or Offer Sheets.

(a) Rejection of SPCs and/or Offer Sheets. In the case of an SPC or an
Offer Sheet, as the case may be, that is filed and rejected by the League, the following
rules and procedures shall apply:

(i) If an SPC or an Offer Sheet is rejected: (A) because it results in
the signing Club exceeding the Upper Limit, or (B) because it does
not comply with the Maximum Player Salary or © because it is or
involves a Circumvention of either the Club’s Upper Limit or the
Maximum Player Salary, and:

(x) if the NHLPA does not timely dispute and refer to the
Arbitrator such rejection in the manner set forth in Section 11.5(g) above, then
immediately upon the expiration of the time period within which the NHLPA may
dispute and refer to the Arbitrator such rejection, the SPC or Offer Sheet, as the
case may be, will be deemed null and void ab initio (i.e., the Player’s Free Agency
and/or contractual status shall revert to the status he held prior to signing his SPC
or Offer Sheet, as the case may be), and the Player shall not be entitled to any of
the rights or benefits provided for under the rejected SPC or Offer Sheet, as the
case may be; or

(y) if the NHLPA does timely dispute and refer to the Arbitrator
such rejection in the manner set forth in Section 11.5(g) above, then such dispute
over that rejection shall be both heard and decided by the Arbitrator within fortyeight
(48) hours of such referral, during which period the Player shall not be
entitled to play under such SPC or Offer Sheet, as the case may be, and shall not
be entitled to any of the rights and benefits provided for under such SPC or Offer
43 Sheet, as the case may be, pending a resolution of such grievance by the
Arbitrator.

So, looks like we’ll be going to arbitration.

the associated press also reported it its real which sucks for now

Kovy will be a Devil, regardless. Either the arbitrator will rule in favor of Kovalchuk or the deal will undergo slight modifications to please the NHL without appreciably changing the core of the contract.

rejecting this contract when all the other ridiculously long contracts went through? This better go through, otherwise it just proves that even the league itself hates New Jersey more than any other. Good job turning us into a martyr team, you’ll just piss us off for the regular season and we’ll own you all.

he definitely will be a devil. The guy had the 1st press conference for this franchise!

The NHL is not stupid, regardless of what we say. They know they are getting bad publicity and fighting this battle and losing they win in a sense. They set up the rule change and win back some of the fans that are upset over this deal. They are essentially buying publicity. They want the fight because it makes them look good. Its politics. Where this hurts us isn’t Kovy its Parise. It’ll limit the options we have for him.

Ridiculous! For the deal to be truly illegal, the league would have to PROVE that at the time the contract was signed, some agreement for Kovalchuk to retire before the end of the contract existed. That would certainly invalidate the contract (despite the reality that he likely won’t play out the entire length of the contract) because entering a contract in which neither side intends to fill the promises of is, and always will be, illegal.

But for the league, for players and the Devils front office to simply “believe” that perhaps Kovalchuk wouldn’t be playing near the end of the deal misses the point – so what if he might retire before the end of it? Kovy hasn’t claimed that he would (in fact, Kovy’s comment about “staying in shape so he could play well into his 40’s” indicates that he does not officially intend to retire within the length of the contract. Lou hasn’t claimed that he would, Jeff Vanderbeek hasn’t claimed that he would, and Jay Grossman hasn’t claimed that he would. How do you definitively prove intent in a situation where no one has claimed intent to retire, and thereby invalidate the contract?

If they press the “cap circumvention” point, (which is, believe it or not, pretty vague in the actual CBA), then why did the league not reinvestigate the Hossa contract and deem THAT circumvention as well? Because if they’re being totally fair, they would. But you wouldn’t screw over the Stanley Cup Champions, right, Bettman? That would be horrible PR for your league, and you couldn’t possibly allow someone in the Atlantic Division to have a scorer like Kovalchuk, because that would make it too tough for your little Crybaby Crosby to win, right?