All right. Now I get it.

I didn't realize that New Jersey could average out his contract so that he is only on the books for $6 Million a season.

Crafty move I suppose but if the NHL let this go by without arguing it, then certainly you would expect it to be a precedent for future contracts, thus, essentially making the the Salary Cap a non-issue for teams wanting to spend more.

in reference to:

"New Jersey would only have been charged with an annual salary-cap hit of $6 million per season because of the low-end numbers of Kovalchuk's contract in the final years. Kovalchuk was slated to make just $550,000 per season between the 2022-23 and 2026-27 campaigns."
- Kovalchuk's epic contract rejected: Daly (view on Google Sidewiki)