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NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils say that they acted in good faith during their long contract negotiation with winger Ilya Kovalchuk.
The team released a statement after the NHL and NHL Players' Association agreed to amend the rules on long-term contracts, allowing Kovalchuk to join the Devils on a US$100-million, 15-year deal in the process.
"We are very pleased with this decision," Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said Saturday. "The New Jersey Devils acted in good faith throughout this entire process and operated solely on the assumption that our negotiations and both contracts reached were fully compliant with the CBA, as written and applied."
A $102-million, 17-year contract between the Devils and Kovalchuk was rejected in July because the NHL felt it circumvented the salary cap.
