After several attempts and two long drama-filled months, the National Hockey League has finally approved a long-term contract, which was submitted to the NHL on August 27, between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk on Friday.  The revised contract is for 15 years and is worth a total of $100 million. The NHL had previously rejected a contract between the Devils and 27-year-old Kovalchuk for 17 years and $102 million but there were issues about lowering the cap hit at the end of those previous attempted contracts – $8.9 million for 11 years then $750,000 for the 12th year and $500,000 for the final five years, which resulted in the cap hit lowering to about $6 million

With the signed contract, the Devils are getting a great player – why else would they want to sign him to such a long-term contract?  Forward Kovalchuk was acquired by the Devils earlier this year in February and then became a free agent a few months later on July 1.  He has a total of 642 points in 621 games in his career and can usually get around 35 goals or more per season.  He was originally drafted in 2001 during the first round by the Atlanta Thrashers who he played for through the 2008-2009 NHL season.

While the signing of this star player is great for the team, the New Jersey Devils are having to cut somewhere between $4 and $6 million in current payroll so that they can complete their roster prior to the start of the NHL season, which is only a month away on October 8.  They will need to move around a couple players, which isn’t necessarily great news since they still have about two roster spots that they need to fill, which means they have two players they need to sign while cutting some of their payroll.  There are several players that have clauses in their contracts in which they cannot be traded – and a trade is likely what the Devils have in mind.

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