Hockey: An independent arbitrator reviewing the Kovalchuk contract with the Devils has rules that the contract's aim was to circumvent the salary cap and has voided the contract. This means Kovalchuk will become an unrestricted free agent again.
The manner which the Devils went about introducing Kovalchuk following the attempt at a 17-year contract will ultimately be a hindrance to Kovalchuk. He was introduced as a Devil, the next step for the organization, the final piece, and what have you. Now that he is a UFA again, where will he go? He has shown his hand and most people are well aware of the amount of money he thinks he is worth. It is doubtful that any NHL will be willing to pay $11.5 million a season for him, even if they are more subtle about circumventing the cap.
I'm leaning to almost say Russia. The KHL has that kind of money and won't be afraid to aggressive pursue Kovalchuk following the failure of the Devils' contract to stick. Kovalchuk doesn't seem to care about how other teams look at him. After all, he did turn down a very nice offer from Atlanta that he turned down--a contract worth about $100 million over 12-years. That contract wouldn't have been stopped by the league.
In all seriousness, Kovalchuk is in a terrible position. He walked from his draft team because he wanted to be somewhere he could win. When he got there he asked for too much money. Now he's got no home, no contract, and only a month left of summer before he really needs to be looking at where to play. If he wants to stay respectable off-ice then he is going to have to save face, choose the Devils at the $6 million that he was going to be making this year, and then try again next year.
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