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.
Dmitry Chesnokov
dchesnokov
Per Puck Daddy's @dchesnokov, source says NHL will approve latest Kovalchuk proposal. No word on terms; waiting for NJD announcement.
Greg Wyshynski
wyshynski
I have one source on it, but would feel better about getting a second before I say 100 percent.
Tom 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.Tom 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.
Steve 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.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.Tom Gulitti
TGfireandice
Party. Pooper.
Was told the league has not yet approved a Kovalchuk contract.
Craig Custance
CraigCustance
NHL says it has not approved any deal between Kovalchuk and the Devils. The saga continues.
Darren 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.