Kovalchuk decision will have wider impact
Hockey Betting Lines
08/10/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There has been one NHL story this summer that refuses to go away and a ruling on Monday ensured that the saga will continue.
Independent arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld the NHL's decision that the New Jersey Devils' 17-year, $102 million contract offer to superstar winger Ilya Kovalchuk should be voided on grounds that the deal circumvented the salary cap. Bloch's decision means Kovalchuk -- the biggest free agent available this summer -- will once again hit the summer market.
Of course, the Devils and Kovalchuk are now free to restructure the contract and submit a new deal that the NHL would accept, or the Russian winger may choose to sign with another NHL club or even join a KHL team in his homeland.
In the end, Kovalchuk will land a lucrative contract from some organization, but the true brunt of Monday's arbitration decision will be borne by the league as a whole.
In fact, a report in Tuesday's Vancouver Sun revealed that the NHL brass is currently investigating Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo's contract and it certainly appears that the league won't stop there. Bloch's ruling also referenced the contracts of Philadelphia's Chris Pronger, Boston's Marc Savard and Chicago's Marian Hossa as "contracts with structures similar to the Kovalchuk" deal and it seems apparent that the league will also investigate those agreements.
The real mystery is what these contract investigations will lead to. The league can't seriously be considering voiding these deals as well, can they? I'm no expert in legalese, but one segment of Bloch's ruling makes it patently obvious that the NHL will void Luongo's contract, as well as other deals, if they can.
Concerning Kovalchuk, the NHLPA made the assertion that the league's previous validation of Luongo's contract and similar deals meant that Kovalchuk's deal with the Devils should be valid as well.
But Bloch's response to that argument couldn't have been more decidedly in the NHL's favor: "The apparent purpose of this evidence is to suggest that the League's concern is late blooming and/or inconsistent. Several responses are in order: First, while the contracts have, in fact, been registered, their structure has not escaped League notice: those SPCs [standard player's contracts] are being investigated currently with at least the possibility of a subsequent withdrawal of the registration."
It seems apparent from that statement that Bloch has given the NHL everything it needs to arm itself for a legal war against front-loaded contracts. However, the NHL would be wise not to become overconfident because there will be a much greater pushback by the NHLPA to defend the older contracts than there was to stand up for the newer Kovalchuk deal.
It just doesn't seem right that the league can void deals so long after they already validated them. Pronger and Hossa signed their deals last summer, while Luongo's 12-year extension was inked and approved by the league last September.
Going back to void these contracts now and make these players free agents is akin to putting toothpaste back into the tube; it's just going to make a mess and ultimately isn't going to work anyway. The league has already made its point with the Kovalchuk ruling and now that it has the precedent set by Bloch, the NHL should concentrate on preventing front-loaded deals in the future, not on targeting contracts that have already been registered.
It's my guess that the league will not succeed in voiding the older deals, but they may be able to levy fines and possibly take draft picks away from the guilty teams.
Of course, the wider issue here is how front-loaded contracts will be addressed in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. The league's current CBA expires after the 2011-12 season and this topic will surely be on the table when the new contract between the league and the NHLPA is being constructed.
There is no doubt that NHL won a clear legal victory on Monday, but there are many battles still to be fought on this topic. Perhaps the NHLPA will win the next one.
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In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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