Kovalchuk Files a Grievance

In an act that most people figured was going to come along, the NHLPA has filed a grievance against the NHL after it rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's 17 year, $102 million contract because the NHL said that it violated the CBA. In this Puck Daddy article, from Yahoo Sports, he outlines the process of how this will get to arbitration. The way that this sounds, it doesn't sound like there is going to be a resolution to this any time soon.

The issue that the NHL has with this contract is not the amount of money, or even so much the length of time, it's the way that the contract was structured. I will, again, reference you to CapGeek.com to see how Kovy's contract was to be paid out. What the NHL is saying is a violation essentially comes down to the last 8-10 years of Kovy's contract, when he would move from making $11.5 million a year, going down to the league minimum of $550,000 a year by the time he's 40 and no longer scoring 40 goals every year. The Devils did this to manage their cap hit from Kovy so that, even when he was making the $11.5 million a year, their cap hit would still only be $6 million. Basically, the NHL thinks that it is a dishonest contract because, even though the cap hit would still be at $6 million, they don't believe that he would still be playing by the time he was to be making the $550,000 per year. And that is a somewhat realistic assumption. Who is the last power forward that we have seen play well into their 40s? I honestly don't know.

What is going to be the result of all of this? I really don't know. I feel like the NHL will probably win this one, which would be a very good thing, all around. That would set a precedent for the next CBA, and really wouldn't give the NHLPA a leg to stand on when it comes to these insanely long contracts. The whole concept of front loading the contracts has really hurt some teams because they just don't have enough money, and then they become the Atlanta Thrashers and can't keep any stars because they have too much money tied up in 1 so they never really win, and then that one star leaves because he wants to win. Should the NHLPA win this one, and should Kovy get to keep this contract, and should the NHLPA then hire Donald Fehr to lead them into the next CBA "negotiations", I can almost guarantee you that there will be another lockout, or strike, the next time around.

Rarely will I ever pull for Gary Bettman, especially since I've rated him the worst commissioner in professional sports, but in this case, I have to put myself in Bettman's corner and cheer my guts out, because this is one batter that he can't afford to lose.