Decision on Kovalchuk contract not likely today

 And so the Devils, Ilya Kovalchuk and anyone else who cares will have to wait until some time next week for a resolution.

Why? The NHL and the NHLPA are talking about issues greater than Kovalchuk's 15-year, $100-million contract and whether it circumvents the CBA. Two league sources told me that the talks are not contentious, more of a way for both sides -- and the PA here is essentially representing GMs like Lou Lamoriello and agents like Jay Grossman as well as the players themselves -- to get a set of ground rules in place as to what sort of contract constitutes circumvention.

It's a strange time to have these informal CBA talks, since that's in essence what they are -- the league and the PA are negotiating guidelines for deals, which is CBA territory. Training camps open in two weeks and one of the league's marquee players is teetering in the balance, not sure where he's playing.

All that seems to indicate that the two sides need more time than until 5 p.m. today to resolve this. One of the sources returned an e-mail asking if this can be resolved by 5. "I have no idea," came the reply. Fair enough.

So perhaps Tuesday, or Wednesday, the two sides can agree on a template for long-term deals and Kovalchuk's contract will either be accepted or rejected again. Which is really only the start for Lamoriello and the Devils, who have lots of other moves to make.

Also, these guidelines will only be in place for next summer, with the CBA expiring in 2012. That's when the real term-limit debate will begin.