While the Ilya Kovalchuk saga is not over yet, it appears as though the end may well be near.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that the New Jersey Devils have submitted a new Kovalchuk deal to the league and that the NHL now has five days to review the contract.
Earlier in the day several sources reported that the League had in fact approved the framework of the latest contract proposal, however the NHL told TSN that as of 3 pm et, no deal had been approved.
Terms of the potential contract have yet to be released but it is believed to be a 15-year deal worth approximately $100 million, which in an amusing twist would make the cap hit $6.66 million a season. It is also believed that the Devils have addressed the league's objections to the length of the contract and the enormous salary drop-off over the final years of the contract.
Earlier in the day it was reported that Kovalchuk's Russian agent Yuri Nikolaev had set a 48-hour deadline for the NHL to approve his clients contract, otherwise Kovalchuk would likely sign a deal in the KHL where he would remain for at least one full season.
Should the announcement be made official it will end a saga that has been drawn out all summer long after the league originally rejected the 17-year, $102 million contract that Kovalchuk and the Devils agreed upon. The Devils reportedly submitted a second 15-year proposal on Monday that was also rejected by the league.
