Although the hearing has been over since Thursday, there has still been no decision. This is expected, especially since many experts pegged that arbitrator Richard Bloch wouldn’t make his decision until tomorrow (Monday).
Either way this particular part of this process will be over tomorrow, simply because the deadline for Bloch to make his decision is Monday night. Which way he will choose is still unknown.
Speaking of unknown, both the NHL, the NHLPA, the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk have been incredibly tight lipped about this entire saga. The Devils have refused to comment about anything, and no one was really expecting a statement from Gary Bettman during this hearing.
So as it stands right now, we’re at the calm before the storm. But no matter what happens, tomorrow — or maybe even later today (although I doubt it) — we will be back to the familiar site of seeing Kovalchuk dominate every NHL venue.
Including this one.