Numerous on-line publications are reporting that Independent arbitrator Richard Bloch has ruled on the 17-year, $102 million Ilya Kovalchuk contract and the that NHL has won it’s case. As a result, Kovalchuk’s deal is now null and void and the talented Russian is now a free agent…again! The NHL had challenged the Kovalchuk deal on the pretense that the contract circumvented the NHL’s CBA. While many suspected the NHL would have difficulty proving their case, it appears as if Bloch, like so many other NHL fans, was able to see the Kovalchuk deal for what it was—a joke! Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million deal would have seen the sniper retire at the age of 44. Needless to say, nobody was buying that Kovalchuk would play until he was 44, in fact, given the deal was largely front-loaded, it was thought that

It appears as if the NHL and NHLPA will finally have an answer as to which side will emerge victorious in the grueling Ilya Kovalchuk saga. Richard Block—who was elected to be the arbitrator in the Kovalchuk hearings—has concluded his two-day hearings and now has until Monday to render a decision. Block has two options. First, he can choose to allow the Kovalchuk contract which would mean the NHL would have to accept the ridiculous 17-year, $102 million deal at face value. The other option would see Block side with the NHL, which would mean the contract would be rejected on the premise that it circumvents the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. If Block does side with the NHL, the New Jersey Devils (the team that signed Kovalchuk to the deal) would not only potentially lose the services of the talented

This offseason we have watched as several NHL players have chosen to continue their career with the KHL, shunning the NHL in the process. At the top of the heap, former San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov signed a four-year, $24 million deal with SKA St. Petersburg, followed by former Atlanta Thrashers forward Maxim Afinogenov, who signed a five-year contract with SKA just yesterday. For many Russian players, heading back home to play is as much about convenience as it is about the money. That said, given the choice to make the same money, I suspect every one of them would rather be in the NHL—fact is, most of them are not worth it! While the skill level in the KHL is getting better, the league is nowhere near what the NHL is. SKA St. Petersburg, widely believed to be

It is widely believed that the Ilya Kovalchuk deal and subsequent hearings have all but kept many NHL teams and unrestricted free agent players from making more of a splash this summer. Numerous trades—most notably a deal involving Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle—have been sitting on the back burner for quite some time, leaving many NHL teams and fans feeling like they have been kept hostage all summer long by the Kovalchuk saga. Yesterday, arbitrator Richard Block began hearing the arguments for and against the Kovalchuk contract from both the NHL and the Players Association. A decision on Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract is expected by this Friday, if not by Monday at the latest. In the end, there are only really two scenarios that can come of Block’s findings. First, Block upholds the Kovalchuk deal, which will force

Last year I had the opportunity to cover the Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. As an accredited writer I was able to take part in numerous interviews and take some pretty great pictures along the way. With the 2011 Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals already starting to steal the headlines I felt it might be cool to look back at my experience in Boston. Here is a look at some of my pictures: This is the first picture I took after the cab dropped me off on Yawkey Way right outside the legendary Fenway Park. The City of Boston and the NHL did a great job of promoting the event both in the media and on the streets of Boston. If you got within a square mile of Fenway you knew

With the ensuing Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals gobbling up headlines, the plot got a little thicker yesterday when Penguins forward Max Talbot called Alex Ovechkin a “douche”. Talbot, who was being interviewed on a local Pittsburgh radio station, was referring to an incident when he was introduced to Ovechkin by teammate Evgeni Malkin. While Talbot did not give a specific reason or detail the incident he did say, “I hate the guy”. Talbot went on to say that “”I was actually at the NHL Awards last summer with (Evgeni) Malkin, and we brought the Stanley Cup over there after the season,” Talbot told The X. “Malkin knew Ovechkin, and introduced me to him, and the first impression wasn’t great. I’m not really gonna say what happened, but I’m like, ‘Okay, this guy is a