NHL approves Kovalchuk's contract with Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk officially joined the Devils on Friday, 45 days after the team held a news conference welcoming the star winger back.

The NHL and the NHL Players Association came to an agreement on guidelines for long-term contracts Friday, ending the stalemate over Kovalchuk's 15-year, $100-million contract.

Kovalchuk's deal was approved as part of the agreement between the league and the NHLPA. The other contracts that were under investigation by the league for circumvention of the collective-bargaining agreement - Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo's 12-year, $64-million extension and Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa's 12-year, $63-million free-agent deal, both signed last summer - also are OK.

According to a report, the new agreement creates two changes to long-term contracts: First, for any deal that extends beyond a player's 40th birthday, the annual salary- cap charge is calculated for all the years leading up to age 40. Beyond that, the cap hit is the player's salary for that year.

The other change is to contracts that extend past age 35. The average annual value for the years 35-40 is a minimum of $1 million, regardless of the actual value.

The Kovalchuk, Luongo and Hossa contracts are the only three affected by the new guideline, which will be in effect only for one free-agent cycle. The CBA expires after the 2011-12 season, at which point any negotiations over maximum contract length will be done at the bargaining table.

The Devils and their president, Lou Lamoriello, still have work to do before the season begins in a little more than a month. The Devils are $3.6 million over the salary cap with Kovalchuk signed. Defenseman Bryce Salvador and forwards Dainius Zubrus and Jamie Langenbrunner, their captain, could be on the trading block.

Comrie joins Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins signed former Islander Mike Comrie to a one-year, $500,000 contract, giving them a proven scorer who might be capable of playing on one of their top three lines. Comrie has scored at least 20 goals five times during nine NHL seasons with Edmonton, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Ottawa and the Islanders. - AP