League looking in Luongo's 12 year deal

DP · Aug 10, 2010

TSN.ca

Arbitrator Richard Bloch's ruling to side with the NHL on voiding Ilya Kovalchuk's contract on Monday could affect other such front-ended hockey contracts.

Canucks general manager Mike Gillis confirmed to the Vancouver Sun via email late Monday night that the league is looking into Roberto Luongo's 12-year contract that was signed last fall.

"We have complied with the NHL request for information and are awaiting further instructions," Gillis told The Sun. "Cannot say anything further at this point."

Bloch's ruling specifically mentioned the contracts of Luongo, Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger, Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa as deals that the league is still investigating.

"Each of these players will be 40 or over at the end of the contract term and each contract includes dramatic divebacks," Bloch wrote in his ruling. "Pronger's annual salary, for example, drops from $4,000,000 to $525,000 at the point he is earning almost 97% of the total $34,450,000 salary.

"Roberto Luongo, with Vancouver, has a 12- year agreement that will end when he is 43. After averaging some $7,000,000 per year for the first nine years of the Agreement, Luongo will receive an average of about 1.2 million during his last 3 years, amounting to some 5.7% of the total compensation during that time period."

The NHL Players' Association argued that those four deals were approved and that Kovalchuk's deal should be approved as well.

Bloch disagreed with that point, writing:

"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."

Pronger, Luongo, Hossa and Savard are among a long list of players who have signed long-term deals that included extra years with diminished salary.
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Really? Their going to do this? If they do this to Hossa, I'll freak.

RookieS2 · Aug 14, 2010

I wouldn't mind if they reject Luongos contract,why you may ask or think? Because Luongo hasn't been consistent enough over the past few years and signing him for 12 years is ridiculious,I do not know what Mike Gillis was thinking about,I would let the NHL reject his contract and sign Luongo for a 2-4 year deal worth about 3.5-6 million at tops.

DP · Aug 14, 2010

What do you think about the other contracts they are looking into? Like Hossa's contract?

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League looking in Luongo's 12 year deal

DP He shoots, he scores!

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League looking in Luongo's 12 year deal

DP He shoots, he scores!

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DP He shoots, he scores!

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