19.7.10

We Sabres fans thought that Vanek contract was bad.

Tamara is always awesome with informing me with hockey news, especially because of me working now often. I work through all the exciting stuff to happen. So she texted me and when I got out of work, I learned that Ilya Kovalchuk had signed with...

New Jersey.

For real? Okay, so I had a feeling that he might pull this sort of stunt to screw with our heads. Keep sitting on his hands until the RIGHT deal came up and it was with the same team he was on at the end of the season. I just never thought it would go through like that. So I thought to myself 'Okay Ilya, you're the ultimate douche and I hope the system kills your playing ability' etc. etc.

This was before I heard what the contract was. Seventeen years at nearly $150 million. I have no idea what the cap hit is per year, but to put it bluntly, holy shit. What happened to the salary cap? Could the NHL possibly go into a lockout mode sooner than they expected, again? This is ridiculous. I saw on Twitter the other day that maybe each team should have a maximum number of years they can sign a guy. I mean, who really thinks Ilya is going to play for seventeen more years? Anyone? He upped my shock face from when the Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa to that fifteen year contract last summer. I wasn't that surprised when Ovie was signed to a thirteen year deal though...

And Sabres fans were afraid of that Vanek contract. Some people still are. It makes me wonder if that was the contract that started everything. I hope not.

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