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No league takeover or bankruptcy anticipated for Devils, says NHL

Lou Lamoriello,Ilya Kovalchuk,  Jeff Vanderbeek i

FILE - This July 20, 2010, file photo shows New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, left, and star forward Ilya Kovalchuk, second from left, of Russia, listening as team owner Jeff Vanderbeek answers a question at a news conference in Newark, N.J. The NHL has thrown the book at the Devils for signing Kovalchuk to a contract that circumvented the league’s salary cap. Commissioner Gary Bettman has fined the Devils $3 million and taken away two draft picks, including a first rounder of the Devils’ choice sometime in the next four years.(AP Photo/ Mel Evans, File)

AP

The NHL is denying a report in the New York Post that the league is on the verge of taking over the financially challenged New Jersey Devils.

“I don’t anticipate either the league having to take over the team, or the team having to file for bankruptcy,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY Sports in an email.

And when you think about it, what did the Post really report? That the NHL had a back-up plan if owner Jeff Vanderbeek didn’t restructure or sell? Well, we hope so. Can’t just let the club implode. Have to step in at some point.

Let’s also hold off on the relocation talk. The Devils may have to let Zach Parise walk away this summer, but the team isn’t going anywhere. This is a “too much debt” problem; not a “hockey can’t work in New Jersey” problem.

Whether the NHL should’ve allowed an owner to leverage a franchise so aggressively is another discussion.