DEVELOPING: Arbitrator: Try again Kovy and Devils!

Ilya Kovalchuk/Courtesy: jennifer brown/star-ledger

Well, that didn't last long. Ilya Kovalchuk is a free agent again. An arbitrator ruled the 17-year, $102 million dollar contract that he signed in July, invalid. The NHL had rejected the heavily front-loaded contract saying it was just a way to circumvent the salary cap. The arbitrator agreed.

More, from NHL.com's Dan Rosen RIGHT HERE

The suspicion is that the Devils will just come up with a new twist and offer Kovy another deal. Though the Kings and a couple other teams were seriously interested and offered solid bids for his services, none could compare to what the Devils came up with.

This should be a fun story to follow...though we suspect we know the outcome. We'll see.