More photos » Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

FINALLY, this will be reality. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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If you wanted to see Ilya Kovalchuk re-signed as a New Jersey Devil or at least an end to this summer-long saga of the Devils and Kovalchuk trying to work out a contract the NHL would approve, then today may be your lucky day.   Reports are coming out that the NHL will accept the $100 million, 15 year contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk.

There are multiple reports, here are a few.  First, Darren Dreger of TSN has reported that the NHL will accept the contract as part of a larger agreement between the NHL and NHLPA about CBA negotiations. Second, even  ESPN has a short blurb reporting the same news. Third,  Sportsnet has went a little further, with a big graphic along with the year-by-year breakdown of the contract.  Fourth, Tom Gulitti also reports that the deal will be accepted, along with the reminder that the Devils now have to get underneath the salary cap.

Nothing is official from the NHL just yet; but given that major hockey media outlets and reporters are confident enough to report it, I'm confident enough to join in - hoping there aren't any more surprises. There will definitely be more details later, especially about what amendments to the CBA will be made; so expect this post to be updated later today. 

And before anyone asks, here are my thoughts on who the Devils should to trade away to get underneath the salary cap.  Posted back in mid-July, you know, when the Devils made the first signing.   It's still applicable today unless something goes horribly awry before 5 PM.  Either way, good luck to Lou for going to have make some deals in less than a month.  But for now, Lou, Jeff Vanderbeek, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jay Grossman, the players, the coaches, the marketing staff, and the many Devils fans all around the world can breathe a little easier.

UPDATE #2:  From user kellyn in the comments, Darren Dreger has this disappointing tweet:

The NHL and NHLPA have extended the 5pm deadline to finalize agreement.

I hope, I hope, I hope this is just for formal purposes.  After all of the reports, anything more would be ridiculous.

UPDATE #1:  ESPN has updated their story with this crucial line from the AP.

Jay Grossman, Kovalchuk's agent, confirmed the agreement in an e-mail, The Associated Press reported.

I think it's happening.   Here's a second bit.  With respect to CBA amendments, normally the NHLPA has to vote on it and get 20 out of 30 votes for approval.  Tom Gulitti reported that's not needed in this tweet:

Correctiion. NHLPA board gave pre-authorization to negotiators to make this deal, so no vote will be needed.

I really think it's happening now.  Speaking of CBA changes, Larry Brooks tweeted this take, saying the amendment move is a "victory" for other clubs.  Not sure what the amendment exactly is, but per this tweet by Nick Kypreos, it appears that contracts won't use years beyond age 40 for the player to reduce the cap hit of a contract.  If that's true, then based on Brooks' tweet, it's probably a stepping stone for hard term limits for the next CBA in 2012 - so teams, get your guys locked up long term in 2011!   More later.

One more thing: Thanks to Matt in the comments for finding this: Sovietsky Sport's Pavel Lysenkov just called Kovalchuk and tweeted:

Just phoned Kovalchuk. "Ilya, can I congratulate you?" Contract approved? " - "Yes, true. Thank you," - Kovalchuk confirmed.

It's so close, you can taste it.

More photos » Mel Evans - ASSOCIATED PRESS

No, there's no decision yet. I wish I could find a livid expression, but instead, here's another picture of the Guy the NHL Can't Decide Upon. (AP Photo/ Mel Evans)

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Last Friday, the New Jersey Devils submitted a contract with Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL offices. According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in Article 11.5(d), the NHL has 5 days to approve or reject the contract.   I've discussed this yesterday, and there was discussion and anticipation all day today, hockey fans were awaiting some kind of conclusion.  Today would be the fifth day.   The decision was essentially simple for the NHL: accept the contract or reject the contract.  Yes or no.

The NHL chose, with the NHL Players Association's consent, to wait 2 more days - as stated in NHL.com.

I'll be brief: This is garbage. It's just about excremental as it just stinks all the way around.  

Let's me ask some difficult questions.

First, the NHL took a whopping one day to reject the first contract the Devils submitted in July.  One day. Maybe not even 24 hours. Still, it was a pretty quick decision. Ergo, it's not like it takes a while for contracts to be reviewed for acceptance or rejection. What makes this deal that much more difficult to decide upon?

Second, Bill Daly was willing to tell me of all people that they made it clear to the clubs what they would allow in future registered comments. Surely, if the league made it clear to the clubs what would and would not be accepted, then a decision should be easy to make, right?  So what's the hold up?  Did this deal do something the NHL didn't even consider? Or did the NHL never really made it all that clear to begin with, and Daly was just blowing smoke?

Third, the union decided to lie down for the league in allowing this extension.  I'm presuming they could have said no to an extension, and forced a decision.  Why would the union do this at all?  What does the PA get out of extending the deadline?  How is one of their constituents, much less the entire New Jersey Devils squad, helped by having to wait even longer for a decision to be made?  

In fact: Why the NHL even needs this much time? Are they still looking for something to "catch" the Devils or Kovalchuk on in this contract to justify a rejection?  Are they honestly divided upon what to do with the deal?  Are they just making a point other that the NHL is more than willing to be publicly petulant and bush-league?   Are they even aware that a lot of Devils fans now justifiably feel that the league has it in for them in that they aren't doing anything like this to other teams who have similar contracts?

At least Lou is confident, given this statement from the official website.  But I can't imagine he's happy either.

There better be something incredibly valid to force the league to sit on this deal for a whole week.  I have a feeling we will all be disappointed (and outraged) when the reasoning is revealed - if it is ever revealed.

For a situation that required a yes or a no, the NHL chose to stretch this out.  Why? I couldn't tell you. I'd love to tell you an answer but there isn't one at the moment. I'd be honestly surprised if I get an answer to any of these questions. Admittedly, I'm further sick of rumors and speculation and rationalization and reports from "sources" and other news that turned out to be mistaken.  We were supposed to have something today and at the end, the NHL chose to wait some more.  We're now supposed to get a decision by Friday; but honestly, I don't know why I should put faith in the league making one by then.

Thanks for reading all the same.  Please leave your thoughts in the comments, remember the rules are in effect, and someone let me know when the excuses start rolling in from the league and/or the union.

More photos » Mel Evans - AP

We're waiting, so let's put all the discussion here. Thanks. (AP Photo/ Mel Evans)

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Welcome to an open post for the second Ilya Kovalchuk contract with the New Jersey Devils. The first contract was rejected, grieved by the union, and ultimately the rejection was sustained by an arbitrator.   After additional negotiation and talks, the Devils submitted a second contract to the NHL on Friday.   Per the CBA, the NHL has up to five days to approve or reject the contract.  If the league takes no action at 5 PM, then the contract would be accepted as-is.  Though, according to Tom Gulitti, that's not likely going to happen.

So far, the NHL has done nothing.  The most recent bit information on Tuesday comes from Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, who got a year-by-year breakdown of the contract.   Here's a truncation of that list, all numbers are in millions.

I've offered my take on the whole mess last night.  One way or another, there will be some conclusion - whether Kovalchuk will be a Devil for this contract, or whether this contract is deemed unacceptable by the league for some reason. Admittedly, I'm not seeing the problem with this deal; but then, I didn't see a problem with the first one - and my reasoning was thrown into the garbage can of history.

A lot of today's news with respect to the Devils if not the NHL as a whole will be focused on Kovalchuk.   So, to centralize it all, please use the comments to this post to discuss any and all things Kovalchuk-related.   Nothing else.  Kovalchuk-only comments.  Want to discuss how this is silly? Go ahead. Want to talk about Kovalchuk as a player? Fine. But no other topics as this is the Kovalchuk discussion post.  As a non-exhaustive list of examples: please do not discuss about blogs, reporters, Brian Burke, calling Gary Bettman the oh-so-clever "Buttman," lamenting a lockout/strike in 2012, and so forth.  A few more ground rules just to emphasize them:

Please place all updates from Twitter or other news sites about Kovalchuk in this post. Do not make a new FanShot or FanPost, link them here.  This way all of this can be confined to one location.  Don't link to twitter feeds or blogs, link to the actual tweet or post. The timestamp in Twitter acts as a perma-link; and use the link tool in the comments so long URLs aren't cut-off.   Please only link to credible sources (e.g. Tom Gulitti, Rich Chere, anyone at Sportsnet or TSN, etc.) and ignore the fools (e.g. Eklund, NHLSourcesSay, etc.).  Please link to actual news and facts, the less clutter and rumors - the better for all who read this site.

Above all, should the deal be accepted or rejected, please follow the rules at all times.  That means no cursing should something not go your way. That means no inappropriate content.  Supporters of other teams are welcomed, but are expected to behave too.  Regulars here should treat them like anyone else.  If you can't handle following the rules for whatever reason, then please refrain from commenting until you can. Whatever happens, we'll hope to get a post up during the day.  Thanks for reading, I'll be checking in through the day. 

More photos » Mel Evans - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tomorrow, we will finally - finally - find out if the NHL is OK with the second Ilya Kovalchuk contract. I think it should be no issue, and I offer thoughts about the hold up and why it's been frustrating. (AP Photo/ Mel Evans)

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Back on Friday, the New Jersey Devils submitted a second contract with Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL. Unlike the first contract, full details on this second deal aren't available.  However, enough details have been reported to get a grasp on how this deal is different from the one back in July.

• Based on Tom Gulitti's post, the total contract is $100 million over 15 years. A reduction of $2 million and 2 years.  The average value, or the cap hit, goes up from $6 million to $6.667 million per year.  
  
• The length of the contract will see Kovalchuk turn 42 in mid-April instead of 44.
  
• Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos tweeted yesterday that the final 5 years of this new contract is worth $10 million total, an increase of $7.25 million over the final 5 years of the rejected contract.   This also means that Kovalchuk will be getting 90% of the total contract value in the first 10 years, as opposed to 93% (or $5 fewer million) from the rejected deal.
  
• Kypreos further tweeted yesterday that Kovalchuk's base salary in the final year of the contract is $4 million.  In fact, the final 3 years will average $2.6 million total.  Both are big increases over the final three years of the rejected deal, which were just for $550,000.

If there are any additional details, such as a full breakdown of the contract or a listing of trade clauses (if any), then please let me know in the comments.  (Update: Nick Kypreos has the full breakdown at Sportsnet.ca. Thanks to C.J.Richey121 in the comments) Still, based on what Gulitti and Kypreos has reported, this should be enough to correct the root causes for what got the first deal rejected.  I explain my reasoning after the jump.

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More photos » Jim McIsaac - Getty Images

Yes, an entire post about Mike Mottau. Deal with it. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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This is a question I'm sure most New Jersey Devils fans aren't asking. 

After all, we're waiting to see if the NHL will approve the new Ilya Kovalchuk contract for $100 million over 15 years.  If they do, then most Devils fans will be wondering who will be dumped to get the team underneath the salary cap ceiling in time for the 2010-11 season.  (Incidentally, I've made my argument here as to who that should be back in July, please don't discuss it here.) 

With September coming up, several of the free agents from last year's team have signed elsewhere.  Paul Martin signed with Pittsburgh. Rob Niedermayer went to Buffalo.  Yann Danis went to Russia and will play for Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL. Martin Skoula also will play in the KHL, but for Avangard Omsk.  Andrew Peters and Jay Pandolfo were bought out, and Peters has signed with the Florida Panthers.

Yet, Mike Mottau has not been signed by anyone.  He is still available for any team in the league.  I find it bizarre (and unfair in a way) that Andrew Peters - yes, the same Andrew Peters whose fists were irrelevant last season -  got a contract - a two-way contract, but still - before Mike Mottau got a deal. I know Jay Pandolfo hasn't been signed anywhere either, but he's lost more than just a step in recent seasons.  He was a shutdown defensive winger, but as more teams tend to match lines "power for power," Pandolfo's lack of offense really doesn't make him viable. I can see why Pandolfo hasn't been signed, but not a 32-year old defenseman who hasn't really lost anything yet. I don't understand why Mottau is still an unrestricted free agent, and I'll explain why after the jump.

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Rich Schultz - AP

Could Travis Zajac get strong consideration for the Frank J. Selke Award? (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File)

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In Part 1 of my discussion on the 2010-2011 Devils penalty killing unit, I mentioned that the additions of Henrik Tallinder and Anton Volchenkov should make the defensive unit a much tougher one for opponents to face.  With the Devils utilizing three top penalty killers in Volchenkov, Tallinder and Colin White it should help the Devils make a mediocre penalty killing unit better, right?  If you remember I also mentioned a problem area for the penalty killing unit coming into next season.

The Bad: With the loss of Rob Niedermeyer to the Buffalo Sabres (who was replacing the time John Madden once played on the unit), the buyout/release of Jay Pandolfo and seemingly no interest in bringing back Dean McAmmond, the Devils lose 1/3 of the forwards that significantly contributed on the penalty kill in 2009-2010.

Now this post dovetails with John's earlier post on the different candidates for third line center.  (Read it here if you missed it) John listed out the three options that the Devils had for a third line center and one of the options (however unlikely we thought it was because of the Devils cap situation) that may have to be explored is free agency.   With the way the NHL offseason has progressed there are still a number of quality players looking for jobs and that should be able to be signed for a salary close to the league minimum.   The Devils may have to look into the free agency pool to ensure they have sufficient depth for penalty killing minutes and third line players.  

After the jump I will talk about the internal options the Devils have and address some free agent options that can play on the penalty kill and in either a third or fourth line capacity. 

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More photos » Elsa - Getty Images

5 MORE DAYS? HOW LONG ARE YOU PLANNING TO DRAG THIS OUT?

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It's all come down to this. It's been over a month since Ilya Kovalchuk's 17 year $102 million contract was rejected by the NHL. Earlier today, Dmitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy reported that the NHL is expected to accept the latest proposal by the Devils. Tom Gulitti later mentioned that the NHL hasn't yet completed the review, but the new contract addressed all the problems in the first contract. TSN's Darren Dreger also mentions that the term is shortened, and the structure of the contract has been changed as well. Darren Dreger reports that the new Deal is 15 years, $100 million dollars, with an AAV of $6.66 million/year. Ditto for Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, Tom Gulitti and ESPN's EJ Hradek. The new contract is 2 years shorter, and will pay Kovy $2 million less than the previous contract, and a contract with a cap hit that fits the number of the beast. The NHL will have 5 days (not 5 business days, meaning the weekends count) to review the contract. Craig Custance of The Sporting News doesn't expect a decision from the NHL today, so  we're back to our favorite game again: the waiting game.

More photos » Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

about 1 month ago: NEWARK NJ - JULY 20: Team owner Jeff Vanderbeek and Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils field questions during a media opportunity announcing Kovalchuk's contract renewal at the Prudential Center on July 20 2010 in Newark New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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As most of you already know, Jeff Vanderbeek, Devils alumni, and other management personnel have been going around the state networking with fans. Last night was the third stop of Jersey Tour, which was held at Morton's Steakhouse at the Shops at Riverside Mall in Hackensack. John attended the inaugural event in Long Branch in late July. Here's his take and summary of the event. The second stop was in Hoboken at the Hoboken Bar and Grill. Here's a recap from the Devils website.

The panel included Devils Chairman and Managing Partner Jeff Vanderbeek, Devils Co-Owner Michael Gilfillan, and Devils alumni Ken Daneyko, Grant Marshall, and Bruce Driver. The event was emceed by Devils play-by-play radio announcer Matt Loughlin from WFAN. After a period of mingling with some food and drinks, fans were able to ask the panel some questions regarding the Devils, Prudential Center, and of course a certain Russian hockey player.

John was able to obtain an invitation for ILWT and I through the New Jersey Devils, and I thank both for the opportunity to go. There wasn't a separate media portion, thus here is a summary of the introduction, the Q and A session, and some additional information I gathered afterwords. All after the jump.

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