Arbiter: NHL was right in voiding Kovalchuk deal

Ilya Kovalchuk is back on the free-agent market.

An arbitrator ruled Monday that the NHL acted correctly in voiding Kovalchuk’s landmark $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.

The league had rejected the 17-year contract, saying the longest deal in league history violated its salary cap.

The NHL Players Association filed a grievance against the league. A hearing was held last week and arbiter Richard Bloch sided with the league when he issued his ruling.

The decision puts Kovalchuk back on the market. The high-scoring Russian was hockey’s biggest prize in free agency this year with 338 goals and 304 assists in 642 career games.

“We want to thank arbitrator Bloch for his prompt resolution of a complex issue,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “His ruling is consistent with the league’s view of the manner in which the collective bargaining agreement should deal with contracts that circumvent the salary cap.”

The players’ association said it was disappointed with the ruling, which it was reviewing. It had no further comment.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was not immediately available for comment.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said it was too early to say whether the league would take punitive action against the Devils. New Jersey can be fined or lose draft picks for signing Kovalchuk to a contract that circumvented league rules.

Kovalchuk and the Devils agreed to the deal July 19. The next day, the league determined the contract was illegal because years of low salary at the end lowered the cap hit.

The union filed a grievance July 26. The All-Star was slated to earn only $550,000 in each of the last five seasons of the rejected deal. It would have run through the 2026-27 season, when Kovalchuk will be 44.

Kovalchuk had 41 goals and 44 assists last season, when he was traded to the Devils by Atlanta in February. The 27-year-old left wing is the league’s leading goal scorer since 2001.

The Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Devils and SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League talked with Kovalchuk after free agency started July 1. The final decision came down to the Kings and New Jersey.

Other long-term deals have been signed without incident, though none is as long or tapers as sharply as Kovalchuk’s agreement.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo has a $63 million, 12-year deal that pays only $7 million over the final four seasons and takes him to age 43. Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks will be 42 at the end of his $62.8 million, 12-year contract that pays $3.5 million in the last four seasons.

Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen of the Detroit Red Wings and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers are among those with similar contracts. In length, the Kovalchuk deal tops New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro’s 15 years and Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin’s 13.