Arbitrator Richard Bloch listened to both sides(NHL and NHLPA) of the story during the two day court trial. Late Monday night, he announced his decision for the contract to be rejected, agreeing with the NHL.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the League would not approve it because it was a "circumvention of the Collective Bargaining Agreement." The entire statement can be found here.
Lou Lamoriello made the following statement:
“We have reviewed and respect Arbitrator Bloch's ruling in the Kovalchuk matter. We also note and appreciate his finding that nothing in his opinion should be read as suggesting that either the club or Ilya Kovalchuk operated in bad faith or on the basis of any assumption other than that the Standard Player Contract was fully compliant with the CBA. That has been our consistent position throughout".
What do i think of all of this?
First off i think that the contract was rejected not due to the CBA, but because it is considered a "retirement contract". I think that is why Bloch decided to go with the NHL. With that said, i STILL disagree with it because there are many contracts that are the exact same. Roberto Luongo's contract ends at age 43 and he will make $1 million.
I still see Kovalchuk becoming a Devil, and there is a strong possibility there already is a back-up contract in the works, if not already completed.
First off i think that the contract was rejected not due to the CBA, but because it is considered a "retirement contract". I think that is why Bloch decided to go with the NHL. With that said, i STILL disagree with it because there are many contracts that are the exact same. Roberto Luongo's contract ends at age 43 and he will make $1 million.
I still see Kovalchuk becoming a Devil, and there is a strong possibility there already is a back-up contract in the works, if not already completed.
