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Ilya Kovalchuk's Summer, Summed Up In An Hour Of Tweets

by Travis Hughes • Aug 27, 2010 3:16 PM EDT

For a short while on Friday, it looked as though Ilya Kovalchuk was finally going to be locked up long-term with the New Jersey Devils. Dimitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy and Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record both reported the news that things were over.

Done. The NHL approved the latest contract proposal.

We can all go back to worrying about actual on-ice hockey things, right? Nope. Return the cake. It might not be complete just yet. Go figure, right? I mean, really, with all the BS that's flown around this Kovalchuk thing since July 1, we all should've seen this coming.

But we didn't. Instead, our reactions were a microcosm of Kovalchuk's entire summer... in about an hour of Tweets.

Let's go to Twitter. These Tweets are in chronological order.

The latest (last?) Kovalchuk proposal was submitted to the League a couple of hours ago.about 2 PM ET, Aug 27 via Twitter for BlackBerry®Dmitry Chesnokov
dchesnokov

Per Puck Daddy's @dchesnokov, source says NHL will approve latest Kovalchuk proposal. No word on terms; waiting for NJD announcement.shortly after 2 PM ET, Aug 27 via webGreg Wyshynski
wyshynski

I have one source on it, but would feel better about getting a second before I say 100 percent.about 2:15 PM ET, Aug 27 via webTom Gulitti
TGfireandice

OK. This is a little late because others are saying it's done too, but I did get second confirmation on league thumbs up.about 2:20 PM ET, Aug 27 via webTom Gulitti
TGfireandice

Pop the champagne! Congrats are in order!

Thanks to @TGfireandice and @dchesnokov for running this story completely. I hope you get long vacations.about 2:30 PM ET, Aug 27 via webSteve Lepore
stevelepore

Just as I thought, driving down the I-95 and something happens. Congrats to Kovalchuk, the Devils, the NHL ,and all hockey fans.about 2:30 PM ET, Aug 27 via Twitter for BlackBerry®Dmitry Chesnokov
dchesnokov

And... that's when it happens.

I hate to do this, but i'm told now that it is not done yet with NHL.about 2:40 PM ET, Aug 27 via webTom Gulitti
TGfireandice

Party. Pooper.

Was told the league has not yet approved a Kovalchuk contract.about 2:50 PM ET, Aug 27 via webCraig Custance
CraigCustance

NHL says it has not approved any deal between Kovalchuk and the Devils. The saga continues.about 3:00 PM ET, Aug 27 via webDarren Dreger
DarrenDreger

The saga continues, indeed.

It's possible that the NHL does in fact approve this latest contract today, but the way the thing has played out in the media this summer has been exactly as you see above. "It's done!" ... "No, not so fast." ... "It's done!" ... "Rejected by the League." ... "Going to Russia." ... "Back with the Devils." ... "No, not so fast."

Just a typical summer for Ilya Kovalchuk, or something.

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Comments

The League is determined to make this as difficult as possible. Bitter much, Bettman? Just let the contract go through before you lose another well known name to the KHL.

by njdss4 on Aug 28, 2010 2:09 PM EDT reply actions