Hawks to NHL: Nothing wrong with Hossa's deal
For the second time in a month, the NHL is investigating the Blackhawks.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed on Friday the league is looking into the 12-year, $62.8 million contract Marian Hossa signed as a free agent to determine whether the Hawks tried to circumvent the collective bargaining agreement with the length of the deal.
What the NHL wants to know is if the Hawks discussed retirement with Hossa at any point in contract negotiations.
The 30-year-old Hossa would be 42 at the end of the contract and the Hawks could get salary cap relief should he retire before the end of the deal when his annual salary becomes lower.
Hossa will collect $7.9 million in the first seven years of the deal, $4 million in 2016-17, and then just $3.5 million for the final four seasons.
Hossa's cap hit is $5.2 million, which is the average of the deal.
The Hawks are angry to be singled out by the NHL when the Detroit Red Wings have signed Henrik Zetterberg to a similar long-term contract as have the Philadelphia Flyers with Chris Pronger.
"The Chicago Blackhawks vehemently dispute any implication that the team has in any way violated the collective bargaining agreement, or had any intention whatsoever to circumvent the salary cap," a statement from the Hawks said Friday.
"The Marian Hossa contract is a legitimate contract that was approved by the NHL. We are not at all concerned by the investigation, and are confident the NHL will conclude that there is absolutely no evidence that the Blackhawks intended to circumvent the salary cap."
If the NHL's investigation turns up evidence the Hawks did discuss retirement with Hossa during negotiations, the club could face a maximum fine of $5 million plus the loss of draft picks.
Daly, e-mailing the Daily Herald on Friday, cautioned the league only is investigating the Hossa contract.
"We are not prosecuting a claim, nor have we made any determination (even preliminary) that there has been a circumvention," Daly said.
Daly went on to explain that if parties negotiate a contract "with the expectation or even he contemplation that the player will not play through the term, and they get a cap benefit because of it, it will be deemed a clear circumvention of the CBA and significant penalties can be assessed."
In an e-mail to the Ottawa Sun on Thursday, Daly said Hossa's contract was being investigated because it's the first long-term contract that takes a player past the age of 40 and because the value of the contract in its "out years" was dramatically lower than its early years.
Hossa, at his recent news conference at the United Center, was asked about playing out his contract to age 42 and pointed out how former Red Wings teammate Chris Chelios still is playing at 47.
Earlier this month, the NHL investigated the Hawks when their restricted free agents were late in receiving their qualifying contract offers. The NHL Players Association filed a grievance, which went away when the Hawks re-signed all of their restricted free agents.
Hossa's signing has been a lightning rod for news since July 1. Not only was the contract the largest in franchise history, Hossa needed surgery last week to repair a torn right rotator cuff and will be sidelined until at least late November.