No need to celebrate with fellow New Jersey Devils teammates just yet as the NHL rejected the Ilya Kovalchuk, 17 year /102 million dollar contract. The contract has been deemed cap circumvention, which makes sense considering Kovalchuk will be a whopping 44-years-old when it ends.
As From the Rink pointed out, only .02 percent of players retire at that age.
The NHLPA now has five days to delay the process even further and appeal. The Devils also have five days to restructure the contract. If neither appeal, Kovalchuk will hit the open market once more and answer our letter. Our very own Matt Bennett was hopeful the talented Russian would perform with his new team but we would feel safer with him on the Kings.
Simply put, if GM Lou Lamoriello got away with this cap circumventing he would be a genius, but did anyone see Kovalchuk actually lacing them up from age 39-44 at a cool 550K per season?
