New Jersey Devils: "Screw It, We'll Sign Ilya Kovalchuk To A 38-Year, $102 Million Deal Then."

A day after their 17-year, $102 million contract with all-star left wing Ilya Kovalchuk was rejected by the National Hockey League, the New Jersey Devils have once again set a record for the longest contract in NHL history.

"Screw them, that's what I say," Devils General Manager Lou Lou Lamoriello told reporters outside his office in Newark on Thursday. "We signed Ilya last night to a 38-year deal. If Gary Bettman has the stones to reject this contract, we'll sign him to a gazillion-year deal. We're the freaking Devils, after all."

The NHL contended that the basic structure of the original contract, in which Kovalchuk earned 96% of his contract in the first 11 years, was designed to circumvent the league's salary cap rules. The cap restricts the amount of salary a team can pay it's players in any given year. Kovalchuk's new contract pays him 99% of his salary in the first 20 years of the deal, a fact that may still give the NHL pause.

Ted Leonsis, owner of the Devils' rival, the, Washington Capitals, got behind Lou. "Bettman is such a jerk, I'm glad Lou is going to stick it to him." The Capitals have their stars, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, signed to 13- and 10-year contracts, respectively.

-THE EDITOR