League voids Kovalchuk's deal with Devils

Hockey Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NHL has rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils on grounds that it circumvents the league's salary cap.

The report is according to TSN Canada.

The rejection is likely due to the way the deal is structured, which was previously reported by the Newark Star-Ledger. He was due to earn $6 million in each of the next two seasons, $11.5 million from 2012-17 and $10.5 million the following year. The salary was scheduled to fall off after that until he made $550,000 annually in the final five years of the deal. He would have been 44 years old when the contract was set to conclude in 2027.

The way the current collective bargaining agreement is structured, a player who signs a deal before the age of 35 can eventually retire and have his contract come off a team's salary cap; however, teams must negotiate in a good faith effort to have the player remain in the league for the duration of the contract. It appears the Devils frontloaded the deal so Kovalchuk could have earned as much money as possible while providing the lowest possible cap hit for the team.

Similar investigations were also launched last offseason for Philadelphia's Chris Pronger and Chicago's Marian Hossa, but the league did not void either of those contracts. Pronger signed a seven-year extension worth $35 million, where he makes $525,000 in each of the final two seasons, while Hossa makes $1 million or less in each of the final four years of his 12-year, $62 million deal.

Kovalchuk was the hottest commodity on this year's free agent market, as he was pursued by the Devils, Kings, Islanders and a Russian club among others. He has turned down reported offers of $70 million over seven years and $100 million over 12 years from the Thrashers, who finally gave up on re-signing the sniper and sent him to New Jersey in a package that netted Atlanta defenseman Johnny Oduya, right wing Niclas Bergfors, forward Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick.

Wwwteamtalk Hockey Betting News

<< Mora, Francis help Rockies rout Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series at Sun

<< Mora, Francis help Marlins rout Rockies
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora finished a triple shy of the cycle and Jeff Francis tossed seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies dominated the Florida Marlins, 10-0, in the second test of a four-game series at Sun

<< NCAA probe on agent dealings extends to Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA's investigation into possible improper dealings with sports agents has reportedly reached the University of Alabama. A number of schools have had athletes' names surface in an increasi

<< Malisse advances, Tipsarevic upset in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded Xavier Malisse was a straight- set winner, while fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic was an upset victim in Tuesday's first-round action at the Atlanta Tennis Championships. The Belgian Mali

<< Phillies P Moyer leaves game
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer left Tuesday's game against St. Louis after one inning with a left elbow strain. Moyer allowed two hits in one scoreless inning, throwing 18 pitches. It

Braves top Padres behind Diaz, Jurrjens >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Diaz homered in his third straight game and Jair Jurrjens tossed seven strong innings, as the Atlanta Braves defeated San Diego, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Turner Field between the top

Timberwolves to introduce Ridnour Wednesday >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will announce the signing of free agent guard Luke Ridnour on Wednesday. The team scheduled a press conference to introduce the former Milwaukee Buck, who agreed to a four-yea

Hunter remains undefeated as Rangers rout Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter gave up three hits in seven innings to stay undefeated on the year and Ian Kinsler drove in three runs in an 8-0 Rangers win against the Tigers. Kinsler had one of three Texas home runs

Angels' home run parade leads to rout of Yankees >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Napoli, Maicer Izturis and former Yankee Hideki Matsui each hit a two-run homer to lead the Angels to a 10-2 win over New York at Yankee Stadium. Napoli finished with four RBI for the Angels, who capt

Cardinals cruise behind Carpenter to top flailing Phils >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter allowed just one run in eight strong innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the struggling Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1, in the second of four games at Busch Stadium. Carpenter

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.