Marc Savard was popular enough this offseason before it came to light that his seven-year, $28.5 million deal was under investigation by the NHL. The subject of trade rumors throughout the summer, there has been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Bruins’ center, but it appears at least some of the confusion may be resolved.

According to a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the NHL has notified that the NHLPA that it will “grandfather” back-loaded contracts, including the most recent Ilya Kovalchuk proposal, under the condition that the cap hit is is calculated slightly differently for future deals. Currently, a player’s cap hit is determined by dividing total money by total years. This has led to some clever maneuvering by NHL teams, who have simply inked players to front-loaded contracts that have addition years tacked on at very little cost. This means the player gets the big money they want while the teams face a more manageable cap hit.

Count Savard among the group of players to sign such deals, as he makes more than half his deal’s money in the first two seasons of his contract. The NHL is proposing that from now on, cap hits do not factor in salaries of seasons in which the player is 40 years old. This prevents such contracts from getting out of hand, though it is worth noting that Savard, 33 and born in July, will be 39 when his deal expires.

The players union has until 5 p.m. Friday to accept the terms, according to the report.