In the wake of the decision by an arbitrator allowing the NHL to void Illya Kovachuck's contract with the New Jersey Devils, the NHL has begun to investigate similar contracts, including Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard's seven-year, $28.05 million extension.
Savard signed the deal worth $28.05 million last December, seemingly keeping him in the spiked B until he's 40. However, the deal was front loaded, allowing him to earn $7 million in each of the first two years of the contract, while only having a salary cap hit of $4 million each year. The last two years of the deal have him earning only $525,000 annually.
The NHL told the Bruins back in December that they would investigate the contract eventually, something GM Peter Chiarelli alluded to in a Tuesday afternoon statement.
"We are cooperating fully with the League in its investigation of the Marc Savard contract extension. The League informed us upon their registration of the contract on December 1, 2009 that they would be investigating the circumstances surrounding this contract. From that point on, they commenced their investigation and it has been ongoing since then," said Chiarelli.
Last Wednesday, two lawyers were assigned to the investigation. Curiously, this was a few days before the Kolvachuck decision was rendered by the arbiter, as pointed out by NHL writer Michelle Kenneth on Twitter.