After weeks of speculation and debate, the last “big” domino finally fell in NHL free agency this week—or so we thought. Sniper Ilya Kovalchuk inked a 17-year, $102 million deal to return to the New Jersey Devils, but it was promptly overturned by the NHL.

The NHL’s decision was made just hours after Kovalchuk had been formally reintroduced to the New Jersey media. He was expected to make $95 million of the contract in the first 10 years of the deal and just $7 million over the final seven years. The structure was intended to help the Devils deal with the salary cap; regardless of how much money a player is actually paid in a given year, the cap hit is only the yearly average of the total deal. So even if the 27-year-old winger is making $11 million in a given year, his cap hit is still just $6 million annually.

That’s where the league stepped in, arguing it was a circumvention of the salary cap. Similar deals have been constructed before (Chris Pronger and Marian Hossa had front-loaded deals investigated, but the NHL couldn’t prove they were not negotiated in good faith), but Kovalchuk’s contract would take him to 44 years old should he play it out—something the NHL obviously believes neither the Russian nor the Devils have any intention of actually happening.

So how does the move impact current NHL odds and Stanley Cup futures (Sportsbook.com is giving New Jersey has +1500 odds to win the Stanley Cup)? Well, for the moment, maybe not at all. Presently, Kovalchuk’s contract is null and void—meaning he’s free to sign with another team.

Rumors have already surfaced the Kings (+1500 Stanely Cup odds at Sportsbook.com) have jumped back into the mix, throwing another fat deal Kovalchuck’s way. There’s also the KHL as a possibility. And, of course, the Devils have an opportunity to cook up another contract—and hope the NHL approves it.

It’s possible the NHLPA will file a grievance, in which case the contract would remain dead until an arbirtrator determines otherwise. If that happens, things will really slow to a crawl.

Either way, a day after we finally got some answers, NHL betting fans appear to be right back where they started.