Chill out Jersey dude.
It's pretty clear that this points to an acceptance of some kind of contract. If the league were going to flat-out reject it, they would have done so. This makes is 99% likely the deal goes through on Friday.
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DarrenDreger
Pie in the sky at this point, but there are discussions between the NHL and NHLPA specific to rules that govern longterm contracts./
Twitter / Darren Dreger: Pie in the sky at this poi ...
It's not clear at all. It could even mean the NHL was about to reject it, informed the NHLPA and the Devils and now the NHLPA is trying to negotiate in some way. There is no way of telling what the leagues decision is at this point. Also, what is another 2 days after all this. No one is going to miss out on a job because of an extra two days.Originally Posted by Yog S'loth
"Let me clarify previous tweet. NHL prepared to reject this deal as CBA is currently constructed. But, if something can be worked out... "
Twitter / Elliotte Friedman: Let me clarify previous tw ...
Sounds to me like either Kovalchuk is going to get a lot less money, or NJ is going to end up with a much higher cap hit if they sign him, or maybe both.
A 15 year deal with a cap hit under $7M isn't going to fly.
Current "debatable" contracts:
Roberto Luongo:
Contract Length - 12 years
Age at end of contract - 43
Payments at peak year(s) - 10 million dollars. First year. Only one year at that rate.
Payments at low year(s) - 1 million dollars. Last two years. Year prior to that is 1.6 millon dollars.
Payout if retires before low end kicks in - 60.4 million dollars of 64 million dollars (94%)
Cap hit: 5.3 million dollars per year
Marian Hossa:
Contract Length - 12 years
Age at end of contract - 43
Payments at peak year(s) - 7.9 million dollars. First seven years.
Payments at low year(s) - 750k dollars. Last two years. Prior two years at 1 million dollars.
Payout if retires before low end kicks in - 59.3 million dollars of 62 million dollars (95% of total contract)
Cap hit: 5.2 million dollars per year
Henrik Zetterberg:
Contract Length - 12 years
Age at end of contract - 41
Payments at peak year(s) - 7.5 million dollars. First nine years.
Payments at low year(s) - 1 million dollars. Last two years. Prior year at 3 million dollars.
Payout if retires before low end kicks in - 68 million dollars of 73 million dollars (93%)
Cap hit: 6.1 million dollars per year
Ilya Kovalchuck (Hypothetical off of Kypreos numbers):
Contract Length - 15 years
Age at end of contract - 42
Payments at peak year(s) - 11.1 million dollars. Third though seventh year.
Payments at low year(s) - 1 million dollars. Years 11 through 13. Last two years of contract pay 3 and 4 million dollars.
Payout if retires before low end kicks in - 90 million dollars of 100 million dollars (90%)
Cap hit: 6.66 million dollars per year
Now, is anyone really prepared to sit there and say that any of these contracts are different in their intent? Honestly look at those and tell me what the difference is outside of the length of the deals. They are all trying to do the exact same thing.
Okay, for argument's sake, let's say that you are right and all of these contracts are exactly the same. What of it? I can easily see a scenario where the Kovalchuk contract is rejected and all the others are let go. So what? If the league office says "the sky is piss yellow", then the 30 teams have to suck it up.
As others have stated, the league has decided to draw a line in the sand. What has gone before is seemingly irrelevant.
1) I don't give a flying F where Kovi lands. 2) Whether it's holding up the signings of other players is not a huge concern. Players get signed during training camps all the time. Heck, they can even head to other leagues for a contract if they want to, or sit back on the lump of cash the have in the bank (provided they were smart enough to save).
That is all.
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