The saga of Ilya Kovalchuk continues. His case is a symbol of a much wider problem.
The hockey press has widely reported on what the NHL has done to the Devils and Kovalchuk. At this moment, he is barred from playing in the NHL for any team. But I think the real story is the NHL Players Association and their Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The CBA has now been turned into a farce. Long term contracts which evade the salary cap are the latest method. But let's face it. A long term contract is the absolute opposite of free agency - the right that all professional sports players have struggled to obtain over the past three decades. If a player is now able to accept restricted un-free employment, is that not the decision of the individual? Why should the league try to overturn that decision?
So what do the players want? Big bucks? Freedom to choose their employer? Can they have both? What about the owners, the teams and the fans who must ultimately pay for mega-buck deals?
The underlying reality is that players in the NFL, NBA and MLB make much more than their NHL counterparts. Will the NHLPA rebel over the NHL's rejection of Kovalchuk's deal? This could be the opening shot in the re-negotiation of the next players/league agreement. The last time, bad feelings resulted in a season lockout in 2004-05.
Let's hope the NHL and players are not stupid enough to kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs. Kovalchuk deserves what the market will bear. The Devils deserve the right to set a long contract term, if that is what Kovalchuk accepts.
Meanwhile, the league should focus on ways to increase media revenue, and share the proceeds with the teams so that higher salary caps are made possible. Reduce the dependency of teams on gate revenue, and leave policing to the refs on the ice.
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