NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The NHL has harshly penalized the New Jersey Devils for signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a contract that circumvented the league’s salary cap.
Commissioner Gary Bettman has fined the Devils $3 million and taken away two draft picks, including a first rounder of the Devils’ choice sometime in the next four years.
Devils president and chief executive Lou Lamoriello issued a statement late Monday, insisting the team had done nothing wrong in signing Kovalchuk, while saying he disagreed with Bettman’s decision.
