Filed under: Devils, NHL Free Agency, NHL Economics, Sports Business and MediaIt's summer in the National Hockey League -- the perfect time to prepare fans for another labor war. Who cares that the Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 50 years? "Salary cap circumvention" is a much more appealing topic.
And make no mistake: by rejecting Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils last week, the NHL has drawn a line in the sand -- er, ice -- for another legal battle against its players. The league's action is really a preview of upcoming -- and likely difficult -- negotiations on the league's collective bargaining agreement, which expires after the 2011-12 season. The NHL wants to close a loophole in the CBA that permits ultra-long, "front-loaded" deals, and it's going to the mat on the issue by taking on Kovalchuk, one of the league's brightest stars, and the Devils, arguably the league's model franchise.
Earlier Monday, the NHL players' union responded by filing a grievance on behalf of Kovalachuk, the 27-year-old Russian sniper who has averaged more than 40 goals per season during his eight-year career. Now the league and union must agree on an arbitrator, who will then issue a final decision on the contract's validity. The Devils and Kovalchuk's agent could re-work the contract to the satisfaction of the NHL but that appears unlikely, at least in the short term. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Commentscontact juggling
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