At the Red Line

Wow is all I have to say.

NHL.com is reporting that the league is now looking in to every “long term contract” to see if it violates the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Thanks to Richard Bloch’s decision that the contract the Devils issued Ilya Kovalchuk violated terms in the CBA and the leagues rejection is valid, the league is now armed and ready to go after any long-term deal and see if it does something similar.

On the NHL’s most wanted list are

• Vancouver’s Robert Luongo
• Boston’s Marc Savard
• Philadelphia’s Chris Pronger
• Chicago’s Marian Hossa

The league is taking matters very seriously.  In fact, Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has met with league lawyers last Wednesday, August 4, before the hearing of Kovalchuk’s contract was finished.  Upon the leagues registration of Marc Savard’s contract back on December 1, 2009, the league informed Chiarelli that they would be investigating the contract further.

Which to me begs the question – why did the league approve the contract in the first place?  That’s the leagues fault for approving it – if they want to investigate it further, they should have before saying it was OK.

I will come clean – I was on the leagues side during the lockout.  I believed a salary cap was needed.  Things were getting out of hand, teams were going broke, and to be honest, GMs needed to learn how to better manage player acquisitions.

But this is going to get bad really quickly.

I won’t say I’ve had a change of heart, because I really believe the cap is a good thing.  But I think everyone knows the CBA isn’t perfect and could use some tweaking.  It cannot be tweaked on the fly like this – that is just wrong.  The NHL cannot simply start to interpret the agreement differently all of a sudden and thanks to morons like Bloch get away with it.  Maybe the two sides, the NHL and the NHLPA need to come together and simply define some boundaries, some limits of what is acceptable and what isn’t.

Ha.

NHL – you were right for wanting a salary cap.  It was something the league as a whole needed.  But now you’re just starting to look like bullies.  Commissioner Garry Bettman, you better watch out.  You have public opinion on your side and many players in your corner during the lockout of 2004-05.  But if you keep this up, you’re going to lose, trust me.  You’ll be facing a PR war that’ll be very hard to win.  You broke the Players Association, but do you want to break the fans, the ones that fund the sport?

It’s official, everyone has posted that the contract has circumvented the Collective Bargaining Agreement with arbitrator Richard Bloch’s decision that the NHL was right in rejecting the deal.

Couple of things: One, I am starting to feel more and more certain that the NHL is afraid if the Devils get good again, the league as a whole will suffer.  Perhaps I’m just being paranoid, but this is starting to bother me.

Two, there are other long term deals that the NHL has approved that did similar things.  What’s the guideline here?  What is acceptable and what isn’t?  Does this decision give us a figure that we can abide by to get the NHL’s a-okay?

Three, this might not be as bad as it looks.  Here’s why:

If the Devils don’t sign Kovalcuk at all, they have $2.8 million in cap room that they can play with.  This means if the deal did go through, they would need to drop $3.2 million in salary before the season started.  That’s actually quite a bit, and not something easily done without losing a couple of good guys.

Now if the contract is worked, approved by the NHL and we do get Kovalchuk, chances are we’re going to get a bigger cap hit then we want and maybe even need to drop more money before the beginning of the season.

While Kovalchuk’s offensive abilities would be a nice addition to the Devils shallow offensive lines, would they want to risk dropping some good guys to make up for it?

I figure if this deal were to go through, Lou had a plan already in place of who was going to be kicked off of the island, but we probably wouldn’t know until after the start of training camp, as the cap limit doesn’t go in to effect until the season starts.

Now we must wait and see what comes of all of this.  We don’t yet know the complete fall-out as more could still come.  The NHL could fine the Devils, they could be forced to sacrifice draft picks for next season, and they could collectively get a spanking from Gary Bettman himself.

I hope that last one isn’t true.

According to nhl.com, arbitrator Richard Bloch has ruled in the NHL’s favor and Ilya Kovalchuk is now an unrestricted free agent with his original contract from the NJ Devils now being null and void.

This will hurt the Devils if they want to sign him, as they now need to re-work the contract to take more of a cap hit if he won’t take a lower salary to play.

The case for Ilya Kovalchuk has concluded, with both the NHL and the Players’ Association concluding their final arguments on Thursday.  Arbitrator Richard Bloch spent the past few days listening to both sides defend their position on the league’s rejections of Kovi’s 17 year, $102 million contract.

The NHL contends the contract’s length puts Kovalchuk at 44 when when it expires, and they do not believe he will still be playing by then.  They claim that the length is just to draw out the money the Devils intend to pay him to lower the average salary across the length of the contract to roughly $6 million a season, even though the Devils will be paying him $10 and $11 million for a number of years.

The Devils and , by proxy, the Players’ Association, contend that this is not true, and that they have every intention of seeing Kovalchuk play out his entire contract.

The real sticking point, since there isn’t a true way to determine how long a player will actually play aside from wait-and-see, is whether or not the Devils are trying to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) set in place by the league and must be abided by the General Managers and Players.

The argument from the NHLPA is that there is no language in the CBA that states the league has the right to make such a judgment, and with no set measurement in place, the league has no authority to revoke the contract between Ilya and the Devils.

The hockey world will now have to sit and wait – most likely the maximum 48 hours Bloch is allowed – to mull over the testimony from both sides.  That’s through Friday and Monday.  It is possible we see a decision sooner than Monday, but not very likely.

The Kovalchuk case is all but started.  The “system” arbitrator is in place (Richard Bloch), the locale has been set (Boston), and the date has been made (Tuesday).

Wait, Tuesday?  That’s tomorrow!

…

Road trip anyone?

Well, here’s the low down on what we expect.  Richard Bloch, not to be confused with the one half of H&R Block (who died in 2004, by the way), dealt with sports arbitrations a great deal.  He handled some NFL arbitration cases and was also selected in a few NHL cases as well.

I could rattle them off, but you probably don’t know or don’t care about them.  There is one, however, that will live in my mind for a long time.  If you remember back to the summer of 2006, Scott Gomez filed for arbitration.  He was awarded a $5 million contract by none other than our good friend Richard Bloch.

This day lives in infamy because it started the “Days Left with the Devils” clock on Scott Gomez.  Lou did not like the outcome.

If you try to read in to this, you’d think that Bloch was a player friendly guy – but try not to.

My assumption here is that he’s going to look at facts.

Fact 1: Is the Devils contract for Ilya Kovalchuk front-loaded?
Yes!  The sheer numbers do not lie, this contract pays him out a great deal more up front over the next 10 years than the last 7.

Fact 2: Does this contract lower the single season cap hit?
Yes!  Again, simple math tells us that because of the low numbers at the end of the contract, the Devils cap hit is only between $5 and $6 million when they are paying out $10 and $11 million for a number of seasons.

Fact 3: Do points 1 and 2 circumvent the CBA?
No!

Here’s the hard truth of the matter.  The CBA does not explicitly outline guidelines for what contracts can and cannot be.

• At no time does the CBA limit the term length of the contract.
• It does not give the NHL permission to predict how long a player might play for.
• It does limit the amount the contract can drop from season to season, and the Devils are within those guidelines.

The current CBA is what outlines the fact that a player’s “cap hit” is the average of all the seasons’ salaries combined.

At this point, the NHL does not have the authority to change the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  They cannot unilaterally change what they interpret the CBA to mean in a situation like this.  Instead, these points, if the NHL wants to change them, must do it at the next CBA negotiations.

My recommendation – during the next CBA talks – the NHL must make one change: whatever a player makes this season, that’s how much the cap hit is.  That’ll solve this problem.

Rumors are we’ll have a decision early next week.  I’m putting my money on Lou and the Devils.

Call it what you want, Kovi-Gate, Kontract Katastrophie, Kovi Kerfuffle (the latter the one I prefer the most – hence winning top honors as this post’s title).  Fact is Devils are stretching the intended purpose of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement’s Salary Cap.

…

Go Devils!

That’s right.  I’m rooting for the Devils, and it’s not because I’m a Mets fan whose lost all hope of having something better to root for during the summer.  It’s because I’m tired of the NHL coming up with bad rules and ideas to “improve” the game.

I’m putting you on notice, NHL.  You irked me with the point for an OT Loss – it’s a loss; in the words of Willie Wonka, “You get – Nothing!”  You made me angry with the Anti Brodeur Act (aka, the Trapezoid).  And all the while, fans around the NHL have ganged up on us for “ruining the NHL.”

Well I’m sick and tired.  Lou found out that the CBA has little wording, if any, about front loading a contract to the extent that they did with Kovalchuk.  There is nothing that clearly defines that what the Devils has done is illegal in the eyes of the NHL.

Maybe I’ll give you a point for bringing this into Overtime, but once you figure out who’s playing arbitrator, you’ll only come away with a single point. Ha!

I am in no way a fan of Kovi at this point.  The treatment he’s getting from the Devils is a little too Crosby-esk for my taste, but I won’t lie that I’m hoping this improves the Devils standing in the “new NHL” we are in.  We need some help on offense.  I love you Zach, but one man does not a offensive threat make.

We need more of a threat on offense, and more help defensively as well.  I’ll save behind the blue-line for another post.  But this is what the Devils need to do to become more competitive and – if we’re lucky – make it past the first round of the playoffs.

Dear New Jersey Devils,

I have to say that I don’t think there is another team who can build hopes for a promising post season as much as you can, just to let the wheels fly off and have everything come crashing down.

The playoff dysfunction that you have shown since winning the cup in 2003 has progressively gotten worse.  The past three seasons have ended prematurely.  Each season you promote competitiveness, fight, will, and discipline.  You are one of the best each year throughout the regular season.  And once the playoffs start, each cornerstone to what makes Devils hockey crumbles.

Please, everyone, stop looking at goaltender Martin Brodeur.  Tonight’s game is a testament to the problems you face.  I don’t care if Brodeur gave up one goal or a hundred goals.  The fact that you were shut out completely from making a single tally punctuates the lack of cohesiveness you have shown since the post season began.

Lou Lamoriello, you are one the best GM’s in NHL history, but I am beginning to lose faith in you.  Since the “new” NHL began after the lockout, the game has changed, and I fear you are not able to compete in this new environment.

I believe your acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk aides in explaining this issue.  He is a great player and will be the winner of a number of Stanley Cups.  But taking Ilya, which everyone viewed as the Devils move to push for an extended post season run, was a bust.  I don’t believe he meshed well with the team, and he seemed to be slightly out of sync with the rest of the Devils.  He is a threat when he holds the puck, but he never got to the point where the threat became reality.

In fact, perhaps, nabbing him from Atlanta may have only compounded problems, given the fact that we had to give up some good personnel, such as John Oduya, who were key in keeping the Devils afloat.  In fact, this point can be verified by looking at the season as two halves.  The Devils first 41 games consisted of 30 wins and 11 loses.  The second 41 games was much bleaker, with only 18 wins and 23 loses.

What I find even more interesting is the fact that the second half of the season consisted of the Devils coming back from injuries and the entire team playing as a whole for the first time since the very beginning of the season.

Lou, you said at the end of last season that you felt the team was a good fit, and that you only needed to change a few minor pieces and next year you expected to go far.  I believe that was an incorrect assessment.  The team is in fact not good as is, and needs a complete overhaul.  You will be judged next year based on their performance next year.  It is not a threat, but a fact.  The media will talk about this.

It would be one thing if the team just wasn’t there, if the team was not consistent, if the team didn’t play well – but fact is you’re competitive.  They do play well.  They can play good hockey night after night.  But the second half of the season dropped.  We managed to hang on and take the Atlantic Division title, but it’s a hollow victory when you get knocked out so quickly in the playoffs.

We are officially the first team out of the playoffs this year.  The first team not to hold up under the pressure.  The first team that showed incompetence against a team who statistically played worse than the Devils.

As a fan, I am upset, yet oddly comfortable in what I saw.  Unlike last season, where I feel the victory was stolen by the opposing team, we gave this series to the Flyers.  Last season, I was horrified when the Devils lost, and hated the Carolina Hurricanes for their win.  This year, I don’t hate the Flyers.  They came out and played strong nearly every minute of every game.  The Devils did not.  The Devils did not compete the past five games. They did not score goals – period.  They did not penetrate the Flyers end.  They didn’t block enough of the Flyers chances.

I could probably continue with the “did not’s” for quite some time.  But it should just be summed up with: They did not execute when they needed to.  Year after year the expectations are high, and the ability, capability and potential is there.  But they just don’t execute in the clutch.

For now I wish you all the best over the summer.  My gut tells me the complexion of the team will significantly change by the time we see them in the fall.  This post season has ended too soon, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t see this coming since game three.  I wish to conclude by simply saying “thank you” for the entertainment and enjoyment you have given us this season.

As always,
     ~ DevilBoy

I like the shootout.  I really do.   It’s an exciting way to end a regular season hockey game to determine one measly little point which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t really add up to much.  At the end of the shootout, you go home knowing your favorite team won or lost with an exciting finish that kept you on the edge of your seat.  Sure, it’s not the traditional tie that we were so accustomed to and after 65 minutes, a little upset that what you just witnessed didn’t really have an impact and no one was deemed better than the other.

(And now for the dislike portion) I do not find it acceptable that the shootout determined the fact that the Rangers were eliminated from Playoff contention and the Flyers were able to make their way into the playoffs.  There is a reason why the shootout doesn’t play a role in the post-season, because it’s not proper to end a true competitive match that determines championship status based on what is essentially a skills competition.  Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers, for all intents and purposes, was a playoff game as the winner would move on to continue playing and the loser would be done until next season.

This is your only warning NHL.  You have been put on notice that this is not acceptable.

Remember that stupid rules have been overturned very quickly after the season or post-season ends.  Remember that "Skate in the Crease" rule that negated goal after goal if a players skate happened to be in the crease before the puck was?  Oh, and remember that Stanley Cup winning goal that was scored that was technically illegally because a player had his skate in the crease before the puck entered the crease? And remember how quickly, I think it was no more than 15 seconds, after the goal was scored, the NHL repealed that rule for the upcoming season?

And now we move away from the Ranting section…

Sunday the Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres in a very even matchup that left the teams tied at 1 after nearly 60 minutes of regulation.  Nearly.

Dear Buffalo Sabres,

It has come to my attention that your goaltender was not made aware of the likelihood he would be requested to come off of the ice in the event the score was tied when the third period is nearly over.  As we at home were made aware, a tie game would give the Devils the one point they needed to secure second place in the Eastern Conference.  Your netminder for Sunday’s game was not aware of this fact.

As a reminder, you may want to use facilities available to you, like verbal communication during stoppages in play or even when you or the opposing team calls a time out, to make sure your goaltender is kept abreast of these types of situations.

Yours truly,

~ A Happy Devils Fan

In the event you missed Sunday’s game, the Buffalo Sabres needed a win in regulation to take second spot away from the Devils.  In every other possible situation, the Devils would secure the second seed in the East and gain further home-ice advantage.

So with just under a minute left, Buffalo’s coaching staff, players, and training personnel stood waved frantically, and jumped to get their netminder’s attention to have him come off the ice for the extra man.

Patrick Lalime, Buffalo’s goalie, did eventually get to the bench, with about 3 seconds remaining and not before he knocked over the referee at his end of the ice.  By the time he reached the bench, Jamie Langenbrunner scored the game winning goal in a very unusual empty net situation.

So what now?  The Devils now are set to play the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, which by NHL standing regulations, is the Philadelphia Flyers.

Is this a good or bad thing?  Will the fact that the Devils lost to Philadelphia 5 times out of 6 affect them?  These issues are all for a different post sometime on Tuesday.

I normally don’t report on non-Devils games here, but here’s the standings.  The only question mark is second and third spot, which is the Devils – Buffalo game going on right now, with the Buffalo Sabres ahead 1-0.

1. Washington Capitals
2. ?
3. ?
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Boston Bruins
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Montreal Canadians

And as such, we see the following playoff matchups.

• Washington vs Montreal
• (Devils or Buffalo) vs Philadelphia
• (Devils or Buffalo) vs Boston
• Pittsburgh vs Ottawa

The Wife would like to know if it’s okay to root for Buffalo – she does not want to play Philadelphia in Round 1.  I’m on the fence myself…

Thanks to a victory by Atlanta over the Pittsburgh Penguins, plus a thorough routing of the Islanders by a score of 7-1, the Devils have locked in first place in the Atlantic Division and another Atlantic Division title – their ninth in team history.

Depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, the Devils will be finishing second or third in the Eastern Conference. They will drop no lower than third.  But will the Devils concern themselves with keeping one leg up over Buffalo with another game tomorrow?

I would like to point out now that the Devils only three possible opponents are Boston, Philly, or Montreal.  I’ll explain why at the end of this post.

Getting back to tonight’s matchup, there really isn’t much to report on.  The Devils completely shut the Islanders out tonight – with the exception of one goal.  The Islanders only made 19 shots on goal, where as the Devils had a total of 37.  The Islanders did try to fight their way into contentions, but failed and the Devils took two of five power play opportunities to score.  The Islanders scored their only goal on one of three opportunities.

Perhaps the best story to come out of the decisive win is the scoring that came across the board from the Devils.  Players like Patrik Elias scored twice, Travis Zajac had four assists, and Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists, Zach Parise had a goal and two assists, and three defensemen stepped up to make assists on four of the goals.

An overall strong effort by much of the Devils team, with the big names coming through to really shut down the Islanders, albeit not a extremely competitive team as their position in the standings show, is still a good accomplishment to have with only a single game left before the post-season begins.  If for nothing else, it will build confidence.

The Devils are also one step closer to the Jennings trophy, awarded to the team with the fewest goals allowed.  The Devils would need to give up seven goals to Buffalo on Sunday in order to give up that award.  That award should be noted in not only Brodeur’s award list, but also the entire Devils team.  Not only have the defensemen stepped up and played an excellent season, but coaching has once again instilled defense team wide so that even the offense comes back to lend a hand to the defense during the course of the game.  This eases some pressure and even causes turnovers which lead to offensive rushes.

On a final note, some playoff matchups have been decided in the East (finally).  Pittsburgh will be playing against Ottawa.  And that’s about it… I thought there was more.

If the Flyers win tomorrow, they will be playing against the second place team, Devils or Buffalo depending on tomorrow’s outcome, and Montreal will see their first round matchup against the Washington Capitals.  The loser of tomorrow’s game (again, Devils or Buffalo) will then be playing up against the Boston Bruins.

Now if the Rangers win, things shuffle a little more.  The Rangers would then play the Washington Capitals, Montreal would play the second place team, and Boston, like the previous scenario, would be playing the third place team.

So the only two games that will make changes in the lineup are the Devils – Buffalo game and the Rangers – Flyers.  It should be a very interesting day on Sunday.