Marian Hossa to Leave the Blackhawks Due to NHL Ultimatum?

If the NHLPA rejects the NHL's ultimatum, the league will open a formal investigation on Marian Hossa's long-term, front-loaded contract, the New York Post reports.

Now, there's a lot that has to happen before Hossa's deal is deemed null and void. But if it eventually forced the Blackhawks to commit a bigger cap hit to him, they may simply pass. The Hawks already have their share of cap troubles, which they've dealt with this offseason in the form of trading away several players. So, while losing Hossa would hurt, it would give them a lot more financial flexibility going forward. If everything stays status quo, Hossa's $5.233 million cap hit would be on the books until 2021.

If the NHL tried to de-register Hossa's deal, the NHLPA would probably appeal it -- and perhaps get another arbitrator involved. And there's no telling which way the arbitrator would lean, especially after the Ilya Kovalchuk case. However, if the Hawks were forced to re-structure a contract, they probably couldn't pay him the $7.9 million he's currently due to make annually until 2016.

On another note, the Hawks would be quite angry with this decision. They worked all offseason to get under the cap but, if Hossa's number is off the books, they could've kept a lot of the guys they dealt away.

College Football Odds Trends for Week 1

Tracking College Football Odds Trends to assist you in making your picks this season and figure out if the trends are real or bogus.

Week 1 Picks

Iowa State -3 over NIU
The Huskies are 0-5 ATS past 5 road games while the Cyclones are 9-2 ATS in their past 11 games.

Missouri -13 over Illinois
The Illini are 0-5 ATS past 5 games vs the Tigers while MizzU is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 road games

Colorado -10.5 over Colorado State
Coloardo is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games while CSU is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games

Mississippi State -20 over Memphis
Tigers are 1-6 ATS in last 7 road games while MSU is 4-1 ATS in last 5 games against Memphis

Connecticut +3 over Michigan
UConn is 5-0 ATS in last 5 road games while the Wolverines are 0-5 ATS in last 5 games

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