Gary Bettman would be my new hero if he actually did this :)

Discussion in 'WEST: Central Division' started by Big Frame, Aug 11, 2010.

  1. Big Frame

    Big Frame Well-Known Member

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    http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/devils/beware_blackhawks_ilya_decision_4wqFiOx6WIW0ufCLOEupKJ

    The Blackhawks had better enjoy that 2010 Stanley Cup while they can, because yesterday's circumvention ruling against the Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk means that the NHL now has license to pursue a similar case against Chicago and Marian Hossa, with potential victory in that action giving commissioner Gary Bettman the power to vacate the title if he -- and he alone -- so chooses.

    Indeed, arbitrator Richard Bloch, whose decision in the Kovalchuk case reads as if he lifted it word-for-word from Bob Batterman, the lead attorney representing the NHL, noted that the NHL is investigating the heavily front-loaded 12-year, $63.3 million Hossa contract as well as similar deals between the Canucks and Roberto Luongo, the Flyers and Chris Pronger and the Bruins and Marc Savard.

    Responding to the NHL Players Association's submission of those contracts, among 11 in total, as evidence supporting the legality of Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million deal, Bloch addressed that issue in Footnote 23 of the decision that was obtained by The Post.

    "The apparent purpose of this evidence is to suggest that the League's concern is late blooming and/or inconsistent," Bloch wrote. "Several responses are in order: first, while the contracts, have, in fact, been registered, their structure has not escaped League notice and those [contracts] are being investigated currently with the possibility of a subsequent withdrawal of the registration."

    Bloch noted repeatedly that Kovalchuk will earn 97 percent of the $102 million in the first 11 years of the contract while receiving three percent over the final six years. But Hossa, who will be 42 at the end of his deal, stands to earn 93.6 percent of his money over the first eight years of his contract and just 6.4 percent in the final four years. And Luongo, who will be 43 at the conclusion of his 12-year, $64 million contract, stands to earn 93.3 percent of his money over the first nine years of his deal and just 6.7 percent in the final three.

    In order for these investigations to take place, however, a Systems Arbitrator must be in place. Bloch, who was selected mutually by the NHL and the PA to preside over this hearing, is not acting as the Systems Arbitrator. If the NHL is now going to pursue these cases, the sides must hire an arbitrator to fill that role.

    If, however, the league wants to piggy-back on yesterday's victory over the PA and Lou Lamoriello's Devils -- how's them for strangest of bedfellows? -- Bettman under Article 26 would then be in position to levy debilitating penalties including fines up to $5 million; forfeiture of an unspecified number of draft picks; and, and this is the kicker as applies to the Blackhawks, "a forfeiture of any NHL Game(s) determined to have been affected by a Circumvention."

    Hossa was in the lineup for 22 playoff games last spring. Presumably his presence affected the outcome of at least some Chicago victories. If the NHL is consistent and does move to prosecute the Blackhawks and Hossa, Bettman could vacate the title as if his league were the NCAA dealing with Reggie Bush and USC.

    Bloch repeatedly referred to the change after Year 11 from a no-move clause to a no-trade clause in Kovalchuk's contract as further proof in support of the NHL. But the argument should have been made that the Devils foresaw Kovalchuk playing out the contract and wanted to have the protection that sending him to the minors and thus removing his cap hit would provide.

    Article 26 grants supreme power to the commissioner. The Blackhawks should enjoy the Cup while they can.
     
  2. M Two One

    M Two One Halló Veröld!

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    I'm all for a ban on those long-term contract loopholes as long as it is not retroactive. You can't change the past, so focus on the present. If Bettman were to strip the title and punish the Bruins and Flyers to boot, he would be throwing his main supporters under the bus. It would be a financial disaster for the NHL, which is already facing another lockout down a short road.
     

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