Ilya Kovalchuk Contract Deadline Pushed Back to Friday

The NHL was supposed to make a decision on the most recent contract proposal from the New Jersey Devils and free agent winger Ilya Kovalchuk (a reported 15-year, $100 million deal) at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, hopefully bringing an end to this on-going madness that has consumed most of the offseason.

Great news, right? Wrong.

About an hour before the deadline, it was announced that the NHL and NHLPA had mutually agreed to push the deadline back to 5 p.m. on Friday, continuing one of the most unique -- and, quite frankly, maddening -- free agent sagas the NHL has ever seen.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello released the following statement on the decision:

"We have today been advised that the NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to extend until Friday the decision on whether to approve or reject the latest contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils.

"We remain confident that the terms of this contract comply, in every respect, with the CBA and meet both the NHL's concerns and the principles of Arbitrator Bloch's decision. We remain optimistic that this extension will result in an approval of the contract and that Ilya Kovalchuk will remain a valuable member of the Devils for the balance of his career.

"We will have no further comment until the decision is rendered."

Kovalchuk entered the summer as the top free agent available, and brought a rare combination of game-breaking offensive ability and youth (six-time 40-goal scorer and still only 27 years old) to the free agency pool. He's the type of player that's not usually available on the open market.

After being involved in talks with the Devils and Los Angeles Kings, Kovalchuk eventually agreed to a 17-year, $102 million contract with the Devils in mid-July, only to have the NHL reject the deal (but not until after the Devils had a press conference to announce the signing) for salary cap circumvention, sending us down the path we're still on, impatiently waiting for a league-approved contract.

Kovalchuk was acquired by the Devils in February in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers that saw New Jersey send Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick the other way. In 27 regular season games with the Devils he scored 10 goals to go with 27 assists.