News flash: the NHL has balls but no legs to stand on

The NHL announced last night that it rejected the Ilya Kovalchuk's agreed-upon 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.  Its reason?  The record-setting deal "circumvented the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

Deadspin wrote a tongue-in-cheek blog post congratulating the NHL for "growing a pair" by putting the kabosh on the deal.  And truth be told, as Barry Petchesky wrote, the league's effort is admirable.  Clearly, the Devils purposely structured the contract to circumvent the CBA and minimize its annual salary cap hit.  Clever.  Let's take a look at what the Devils did, courtesy of Petchesky's handy math:

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000

(Photo Credit: Deadspin)

First, the Devils frontloaded the deal so that they only pay six-figures in each of the last 6 years.  This lowers their annual salary cap hit to $6 million, which is well under the single player max of $7.8 million.  It doesn't matter if he doesn't play those last 6 years (when he'd reach the age of 44). All that matters is the annual average salary, which is $102 mil / 17 years = $6 million.

Second, they smartly lowered Kovalchuk's first two years to $6 million each.  Why?  The CBA states that a player's salary cannot decrease in any one season by more than half of the lowest of the first two years of the deal.  So now the Devils only have to drop by $3 million, not $5.25 million (the value of years 3 through 7).  That's what allows New Jersey to pay Kovy the big money he wants during his prime, yet still pay him pennies when he's a worthless 40-year-old.  Fabulous.

My issue, however, is why the NHL decided to reject this particular contract.  There are lots of other similarly-structured deals around the league.  Just last summer, former New York Ranger (booooo!) Marian Hossa signed a 12-year deal...at the age of 30....for $62.8 million.  That works out to just a $5.23 million cap hit.  It's the same.  exact.  strategy.  Just fewer dollars and years.  Ditto Chris Pronger (7-year deal worth $34.9 million at 34 years old, only $5 mil cap hit).  Ditto Roberto Luongo (12-year deal worth $64 million at 30 years old, only $5.3 mil cap hit).  Ditto Marc Savard (7-year deal worth $28 million at 33 years old, only $4 mil cap hit).

So why did the NHL single out Kovalchuk and the Devils?  It is because the huge numbers are so jaw-dropping?  Is it because they wanted Kovalchuk to sign in a bigger market (i.e., Los Angeles)?  Is it because everyone hates the Devils??

Either way, what's done is done.  What's bizarre is that ESPN's infamous sources indicated that Devils President and GM, Lou Lamoriello, apparently knew that the NHL would reject this contract before the team even announced it.  I have no idea why he would do that.  What's even more interesting is where Kovalchuk is going to end up next season.  Could still be New Jersey, could be L.A., could even be the KHL in Russia.

Also, I'd really love to know how the NHL plans to have its rejection upheld.  According to ESPN, the NHLPA has five days from Wednesday to file a grievance.  And I'm moderately sure they're going to file one.  At that point, an arbitrator will determine whether the NHL's rejection of the deal was valid.  I humbly ask you, NYaT readers, how the heck was its rejection valid?  The deal, as structured, does not violate the CBA.  You can point out all of the CBA's holes, and complain about how crappy and ineffective it is, and pray that it is renegotiated after it expires in September 2011.  But the fact remains, the Kovalchuk deal does not violate the salary cap provisions of the current CBA.

The only way the NHL could win is by proving that New Jersey and Kovalchuk intended to circumvent the CBA.  And as far as I know, it's impossible to prove what they were thinking.  So the best Gary Bettman can hope for is that the arbitrator buys his lousy argument that the contract violates the "spirit" of the CBA.  Yeah, good luck with that.  The key is that the NHLPA must step up to the plate and file a grievance.  Even if the NHLPA hates the Devils too (seems to be en vogue these days) they should at least defend the CBA that they negotiated themselves.  Here's hoping they do...