Ilya Kovalchuk has waited for a long time to get his contract approved. The first time he got a contract the league rejected it because it was salary cap circumvention. People were shocked because the league had allowed similar contracts that circumvented the cap like Marian Hossa's, Duncan Keith's, and a whole host of other players.
The theory behind these contracts is to pay a lot of money up front so that in the later years of the contract they get paid the league minimum. Of course, the contract is so long that nobody expects them to play for the league minimum.
However, the salary cap is calculated by dividing the total money amount by the number of years, thus getting an annual average cap hit. So if the player retires early, they paid more money but had more cap space, thus creating an advantage for rich teams.
When word broke of his new 15-year $100 million contract, I thought there is no way in hell the NHL approves this. This is just two years and $2 million less. They are still cheating.
To really decide whether or not this is true, Sportsnet got the exclusive numbers that the NHL received from the Devils.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Edmond Dantes
Ilya Kovalchuk Contract: Will It Be Approved?
August 31st, 2010 by Edmond Dantes Leave a reply »
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