Analysis of the voiding of Ilya Kovalchuk's contract for HockeyPrimetime.com

Questions abound after Kovalchuk's contract ruled invalid

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Written by Denis Gorman

Monday, August 09, 2010 20:30

It's official: 44 is not the new 34. Not in the NHL at least. The 17-year contract that would have kept Ilya Kovalchuk in a New Jersey Devils uniform until age 44 was ruled void by Arbitrator Richard Bloch on Monday. The precedent-setting decision not only makes Kovalchuk an unrestricted free agent again, but sets a precedent for future "retirement contracts" and creates a potential sticking point for negotiations when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2012. “We want to thank Arbitrator Bloch for his prompt resolution of a complex issue,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement released on NHL.com. “His ruling is consistent with the League's view of the manner in which the Collective Bargaining Agreement should deal with contracts that circumvent the salary cap.” Unsurprisingly, the NHLPA did not accept Bloch’s ruling as welcome news. “The NHLPA is disappointed with the Arbitrator’s ruling to uphold the NHL’s rejection of the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk. The NHLPA is currently reviewing the decision and will have no further comment at this time.” Sportingnews.com obtained the text Bloch’s ruling and posted excerpts on its website: In this case, the record strongly supports the claim this contract is 'intended to, or has the effect' of defeating or circumventing the Salary Cap provisions of the CBA. The overall structure of this SPC reflects not so much the hope that Mr. Kovalchuk will be playing in those advanced years, but rather the expectation that he will not. This is a long contract –17 years – the longest in NHL history. That, in itself, poses no contractual problem, for the reasons discussed above. But Kovalchuk is 27 years old, and the agreement contemplates his playing until just short of his 44th birthday. That is not impossible, but it is, at the least, markedly rare. Currently, only one player in the League has played past 43 and, over the past 20 years only 6 of some 3400 players have played to 42. ... ... the System Arbitrator here concludes the SPC terms themselves demonstrate this agreement 'has the effect of defeating' the provisions of the CBA, with particular reference to the Team Payroll Range language. For these reasons, the finding is that the League has sustained its burden of demonstrating its actions in rejecting the agreement were in accordance with the bargained authority under Section 11.6(a)(i). Accordingly, the grievance protesting that action will be denied. Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello responded to the belief that both the organization and Kovalchuk conspired to violate the spirit of the CBA structuring a long-term pact that he could not complete. It should be noted that Kovalchuk said he planned on playing the now-voided contract’s 17 years, while Lamoriello defended its legality. During a July press conference in Newark, Lamoriello pointed out that it was the first time the Devils had any opportunity to acquire one of the game's preeminent players at his position. “We have reviewed and respect Arbitrator Bloch’s ruling in the Kovalchuk matter. We also note and appreciate his finding that nothing in his opinion should be read as suggesting that either the club or Ilya Kovalchuk operated in bad faith or on the basis of any assumption other than the standard player contract was fully compliant with the CBA. That has been our consistent position throughout,” Lamoriello said. “While we do not currently have a contract with Ilya Kovalchuk, discussions have resumed and we are hopeful that a contract will be reached that meets with the principles in Arbitrator Bloch’s award and the NHL’s approval.” The Los Angeles Kings had also been in pursuit of Kovalchuk before he signed with the Devils. But chances of the Kings making another run at the left wing seem remote. An unnamed "member of team management" cited by LAKingsInsider.com asked, "are you kidding?" in response to whether Los Angeles would go after Kovalchuk again. PT.com examined the possibility of the NHL and NHL executives’ displeasure with the contract’s terms the day of Kovalchuk’s contract. Now that the grievance has been tossed out, it will be interesting to see how the NHLPA reacts when the CBA expires. The league has been publicly adamant in its lamentations of long-term, big-money contracts, such as those signed by Marian Hossa, Roberto Luongo, Chris Pronger and others. The league did not see fit to nullify any of those contracts, however. Kovalchuk's is the first contract to take a player as far as age 44. It is believed that the NHL will want to close the loophole permitting such contracts, as well as to forbid franchises from banishing underperforming players with expensive contracts to the minor leagues. It is hard to fathom that the NHLPA would not demand concessions from the NHL in turn. Follow us on Twitter @DenisGorman J.P. Hoornstra contributed to this report. http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/headlines/questions-abound-after-kovalchuks-contract-ruled-invalid