NHL's Contract 'Witch Hunt' Quickly Turning Into a Farce

by Alan Adams

Filed under: Blackhawks, Bruins, Canucks, Devils, Flyers, NHL Free Agency

Talk about opening up a can of worms.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch caught everyone's attention when, in his ruling on Ilya Kovalchuk's contract with the New Jersey Devils, he stated the NHL was looking into whether other teams may have circumvented the salary cap.

The NHL, according to Bloch, is taking aim at the 12-year, $64-million contract Roberto Luongo signed with Vancouver last September. He's set to make $10 million this coming season, with a salary cap hit of $5.33 million with the Canucks. He has an out-clause after five years and the team has one after seven years.

Also getting a second look is Marian Hossa's 12-year contract for $62.8 million with Chicago and Chris Pronger's seven-year extension for $34.5 million he signed last summer with Philadelphia, along with Marc Savard's seven-year, $28.05 million contract with Boston.

 

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