Daly says no evidence, conclusions or accusations.

Last week Bill Daly spoke briefly on the NHL's investigation of long-term contracts given to Chris Pronger and Marion Hossa. Admitting that there was no evidence of wrong doing the league will snoop around the Chicago and Philadelphia front offices.

Chief among the concerns expressed by Daly was the fact that the players would be 42 at the end of their contracts, unlike other recent long term deals with similar shape.

When Detroit signed Henrik Zetterberg to a long term contract that pays him an average of six million dollars per season for 12 years there was no public investigation declaration. Of course Zetterberg's contract expires when he is 40 years old.

The contract slides from payments between seven and eight million dollars, in the first 9 years of the contract, to payments of one million dollars in the final two years.

Remember folks, it's not the length of the contract or the large dip in yearly payments at the end of a deal. It's whether or not you'll be 42 at the end of the deal that raises a red flag that should be addressed in the public forum.

You can find Daly's appearance on XMRadio here: http://www.nhlhomeice.com/audio.php
Look for "Bill Daly on HTN" August 6, 2009. The segment on Pronger and Hossa begins at around 13:50 of the audio clip.