NHL extends deadline on Kovalchuk deal The NHL has extended its deadline to Friday for approving Ilya Kovalchuk's $100 million, 15-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. The league and the NHL Players' Association announced the new deadline Wednesday. The NHL has already rejected a front-loaded, 17-year deal valued at $102 million because the structure of the deal would have circumvented the league's salary cap. NHL - The chequered history of the Stanley Cup The NHL's ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, has been used as a flower pot, popcorn bucket and left at the bottom of a swimming pool. NHL wants givebacks to approve Kovalchuk's contract, others The NHL has given the NHL Players Association an ultimatum regarding not only the contested, front-loaded, long-term contract between the Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk, but of similar contracts the league registered last summer between the Blackhawks and Marian Hossa, and between the Canucks and goaltender Roberto Luongo. The challenge, as... NHL extends deadline on Kovalchuk deal to Friday The NHL has extended its deadline to Friday for approving Ilya Kovalchuk's $100 million, 15-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey Devils - National Hockey League - Ilya Kovalchuk - Sports - Hockey |