The story that’s been going on so long you almost don’t care about it anymore, is almost over. ESPN and Yahoo! are reporting that the NHL has finally agreed to a framework for Kovalchuk’s deal. This likely means that the number of years and amount by which the contract can drop off in the latter years has been determined. Now all NJ just has to do is give Kovalchuk what he wants salary wise, while not shooting themselves in the foot cap-wise.
Keep in mind though that Kovalchuk reportedly turned down a 100 million offer over 10 years from Atlanta, so there’s no guarantee that this framework will work for Ilya’s contract demands. If it does, it’ll likely happen within the next day or two and NJ will have the two time 50 goal scorer back in their line-up. They’ll also set the salary expectation for their franchise player Zach Parise who becomes a restricted free agent next season.
