The CBA: Big, Lengthy NHL Contracts...When Is Enough Really Enough?

When a player is asking for a large portion of the cap space, it's not hard to see why owners and general managers want to work the cap hit in a favorable way.

While there are players out there taking long term deals and making them top heavy, there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. Ilya Kovalchuk's deal with the New Jersey Devils was such the case.

It wasn't so much the amount of money that was involved per say.  It was the combination of the contract's total and the term it carried.  The deal was for $102 million over 17 years.

17 years is a long time and would end the contract at the NHL senior citizen age of 44 for the superstar.

This prompted the league to deem the contract null and void citing circumventions of the CBA.

On nhl.com , the Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the following statement:

"The contract has been rejected by the League as a circumvention of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Under the CBA, the contract rejection triggers a number of possible next steps that may be elected by any or each of the NHLPA, the Player and/or the Club. In the interim, the player is not entitled to play under the contract, nor is he entitled to any of the rights and benefits that are provided for thereunder. The League will have no further comment on this matter pending further developments."

The New Jersey Devils President and General manager Lou Lamoriello responded :

"We are extremely disappointed that the NHL has decided to reject the contract of Ilya
Kovalchuk. The contract complies with the terms of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement. We will have no further comment until the process outlined in the CBA is
complete."

It seems that both sides are playing it safe careful not to fuel a fire into a massive blowup of name calling and allegations even though the mud was tossed instead of flung.

Now we beg to ask the question: What about the other contracts that are formulated in similar fashion?

Chicago Blackhawks' Marian Hossa has a 12-year deal worth $62.8 million that will put him past 40 by the time the contract expires. This puts the cap hit at $5.233 million.

Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo's contact is the same term worth $64 million and that puts him past 40 by the time it expires as well.  His cap hit is $5.333 million.

Boston Bruins' Marc Savard signed a seven year deal and puts him at 39 years old by the time it is up. The Cap hit?  $4.007 million.

Here's my take.

I don't have a problem with front loaded contracts. They do help getting players the team wants while making the player happy during their prime and it adds some stability to where they will most likely be in the long term or the twilight of their career.

Here is my problem:

A contract that places an NHL player well into his 40's does not place him at the twilight, but in the geriatrics of his career. You might get the odd iron men in Chris Chelios, Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, Nicklas Lindstrom or Mick Modano, most of these players JUST hit 40 and some will most likely retire in the very near future.

Well...except for Chelios.  He's too stubborn to retire...

Realistically, unless the player is on his game in his 40's, there really isn't much need for such a contract.  This type of contract's purpose does end up diluting the cap space numbers to a fault.  While it may technically not violate the current CBA, it does violate the purpose of the cap system.

I believe there was a line drawn and Kovalchuk and Friends, while not leaving well enough alone, decided to test the waters and see what happens rather than playing it safe, and keeping everything at it's status quo. Who knows? May a similar deal like Hossa's or Luongo's might have been the cusp of what was allowable.

Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils wanted their cake and eat it too. While they cut out the piece that they wanted, the league decided to take it away thinking enough is enough.

While nothing is perfect, the CBA, when used correctly, can make both sides of the equation happy.  Unfortunately, there are some players that want to squeeze every million they can in the self interest of earning more money that they will ever need. The next round of the CBA should be interesting indeed.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean "