Kovalchuk lands 17-year deal with Devils, then rejected by NHL
Written by Heidi Pope Werner, Tuesday July 20 2010
Illya Kovalchuk agreed to a 17-year deal with the New Jersey Devils worth $102 million. The returning winger was undecided about his future in the NHL and was rumored to have been considering options with the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Islanders and Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
As the league’s leading goal scorer since 2001, Kovalchuk has not seen his efforts result in hoisting the Stanley Cup. Kovalchuk has won only one playoff game in his NHL career, and has only been to the playoffs twice in eight NHL seasons. His agent, Jay Grossman, declined any comment regarding the decision to stay with the Devils for a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. Kovalchuk’s return to New Jersey will be announced at a news conference on Tuesday.
But then breaking news came out that the NHL is rejecting Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils because it circumvents the league’s salary cap.
The deal would have maintained a salary-cap friendly contract with an annual hit of $6 million per year for the next two seasons. For the following five seasons, Kovalchuk will earn $11.5 million, then $10.5 million in the 2017-18 season. In addition, he will earn $8.5 million for the 2018-19 season, $6.5 million in 2019-20, $3.5 million in 2020-21, $750,000 the following season, and $550,000 for the final five years. Kovalchuk will remain in New Jersey through the 2026-27 season.
Kovalchuk’s contract is illegal because the years of low salary at the end of the contract were added for the sole purpose of lowering the cap hit.
Kovalchuk would play the final years of the deal at the low salary numbers that were agreed to in the deal. The star forward was slated to earn only $550,000 in each of the last five seasons of the contract.
Illya Kovalchuk was traded to the Devils in February after rejecting a 12-year, $101 million extension on his contract with the Atlanta Thrashers. With the Thrashers he posted 41 goals and 44 assists last season while earning $7.5 million. However, he only had 10 goals and 17 assists with the Devils. As the first pick overall in the 2001 NHL draft, Kovalchuk has scored 338 career goals, the most by any player in the league in that period
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