Surprises and thanks

Only one team, Detroit, has played fewer than 20 games. Here are some thoughts on the season so far:

• Some growing pains should have been expected, but a season as bad as this one is a total shock. The Devils haven't won three games in a row in almost a year and are looking less and less like the team that frustrated me and every other Flyers fans for years. Does anybody else think Martin Brodeur should go back to his old style mask? For years, the Devils were all about the team, now it seems they are thinking more on individual terms. A player like Ilya Kovalchuk would never have been signed by the Devils a decade ago and for the past three years it seems their main focus has been getting Martin Brodeur his records. If there's one thing that shows this transition, its Marty's mask. It used to feature half the logo because he wasn't sure if he was good enough to make the team when he was younger. Now it says MB 30, like he just wants to promote himself, again, something that would not have happened a decade ago. 
• Henrik and Daniel Sedin lead the Canucks with an identical 26 points in 21 games. Three other Canucks are tied with 14 points. The difference between the two brothers is that Daniel has 13 goals while Henrik, last season's Hart Trophy winner, has two. For those too lazy to do the math, that is a pace of eight over an entire season. That's right, stylistically, I am not allowed to write the projected goal totals of last season's Hart Trophy winner numerically, I must write it out. Does that seem wrong to anyone else?
• The Buffalo Sabres are in 12th place in the East and the Devils sit in 14th while the Rangers and Thrashers occupy the 7th and 8th spots. In the West, the Blue Jackets are in 4th, the Blackhawks are in 7th, and San Jose sits in 9th place and out of playoff position. I know its early, but if you thought any of those teams would be where they are (not counting fans of those teams), maybe you should be interning for The Hockey News instead of me (but not really).

There's plenty to be thankful for, both in hockey and in life. I am thankful:

• for Danny Briere's fist pump on one knee after each goal.
• for Ryan Miller's spectacular performance during the Olympics that had many non-hockey fans coming up to me and talking about hockey in the weeks after the Games. 
• I get to watch the Ovechkin/Crosby rivalry from start to finish, whenever that may be.
• for Jeremy Roenick and the three years he spent in Philadelphia. Few are as passionate about hockey as he is and unlike many players, he is never afraid to show a little emotion. We need more of that in today's game.
• for being able to witness history twice last year: the Flyers completing the greatest comeback in sports history after being down 3-0 (twice) and the Blackhawks winning their first Cup since Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull were a couple of young guns in 1961.
• Ray Bourque's Avalanche beat the Devils in 2001 in a series that marked my official beginning as a hockey fanatic.
• for Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi, Rod Brind'Amour, Brian Boucher, Simon Gagne and all the other Flyers I watched when I was younger.
• for playoffs beards and those who can't really grow them but try anyway.
• for my Mom winning a trip to the Olympics which led to my chance meeting with Ken Campbell in what what was beyond the greatest trip I could have ever dreamed.
• I live in a place where I will be able to spend my life talking about a game I have loved since I was six.
• for my parents loving hockey as much as I do and taking me to all of those games.
• my Mom did everything in her power to make my high school somewhat tolerable and got it a hockey team.
• for my Dad's willingness to drive for several days to watch a hockey game that means nothing to us as Flyers fans but everything to us as hockey fans.
• my brother loves sports in a fashion other than 'my team rules and your team sucks because I say so' and that it rubbed off on me (eventually).
• my sister makes an effort to like sports and even when she doesn't for the uncanny ability to make me laugh.

$6.66 M: The Number of the Beast...

...or at least the average cap hit on Kovalchuk's monster 15 year, $100 M contract that was finally approved on September 3.

There has been a lot of talk about the whole ordeal, whether or not this contract was really any worse than Marian Hossa's or Chris Pronger's. Here are Kovalchuk's thoughts on the contract situation. It seems for now that those three players, along with Roberto Luongo and Marc Savard, are safe from investigation for now. The loophole in the CBA was closed, but the issue will undoubtedly be brought up during the next negotiations. Scott Burnside of ESPN.com explains what this means for the salary cap hit:

Under the new guidelines, the salary cap hit of any deal five years or longer that takes a player into his 41st year is calculated on all the years leading up to the year in which the player turns 40. The remaining years, traditionally when the value of the contracts has fallen off the map, would act as their own separate cap hit.

The new ruling means we've seen the end of these so-called "cheat deals" that front-load contracts that take a player well into the retirement zone with payments falling completely off the map to drive down the average cap hit. The league had been warning GMs about those deals for a couple of years, and it finally drew a line in the sand this summer right outside the Prudential Center in Newark.

More information about how this contract will affect the rest of the league can be found on NHL.com.

But what exactly will this mean for New Jersey?

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is either losing his touch or is more of a genius than anyone thought. My vote is on the latter. For nearly two decades, the centerpiece of the team has been Martin Brodeur who is only under contract for two more seasons. He will not be around forever and when he leaves, the Devils will need to find a new identity. They have been a defense first team since they won the Stanley Cup in 1995, but that foundation has slowly been eroding for a few years now. Nevermind that they led the league in goals in 2000-01, they have always won through defense.

The exodus began after the 2001-02 season when grinding center Bobby Holik crossed the river to New York. After each of the next two seasons, major components to their defense would play their last game in Ken Daneyko and Scott Stevens respectively. Scott Niedermayer would leave to join his brother in Anaheim once the lockout ended. Underrated plugger Sergei Brylin left for the KHL two seasons ago. One of the top defensive duos in John Madden and Jay Pandolfo was broken up when Madden wasn't resigned after 2008-09. Pandolfo will not be back in New Jersey next season.  Once Brodeur is gone, the Devils will need to be able to score goals if they want to win.

Enter Ilya Kovalchuk and his six consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals. He only had 10 in 27 games last season after being traded from Atlanta, a pace of 30 goals over 82 games. Should Lamoriello be able to sign Zach Parise long term too, the Devils should be able to roll out two scoring lines. Think about it, Parise had a down year and still scored 38 goals last season. He, along with Travis Zajac who is blossoming into a top points producer should form a formative duo for years to come. Jamie Langenbrunner is getting better with age and Patrick Elias should have a few more 60-70 point seasons in him. According to The Hockey News Yearbook, the Devils have a few strong offensive players waiting in the shadows. They include Mattias Tedenby from Jonkoping in Sweden and Adam Henrique who had 38 goals and 77 points in 54 games for Windsor in the OHL last season.

The Devils appear to be headed towards a new identity as a team, hopefully one that will actually bring fans to The Rock.