The Philadelphia Flyers are already in a lousy situation against the New Jersey Devils. They are down 3-1 in the series, but it’s much worse than that. The Devils are killing the Flyers in most aspects of hockey. The Flyers can’t even carry it out of their own zone without a huge fight.

And Game 5 just got a lot tougher. According to the Flyers’ Facebook page, Claude Giroux will be suspended for one game following his hit to the head of Dainius Zubrus.

“BREAKING NEWS: Claude Giroux was given a 1 game suspension by the NHL for a hit on Dainius Zubrus during the 2nd period of last night’s game,” the post reads.

He did hit him well after the puck was gone, but he didn’t leave his feet. Still, the NHL obviously thinks he went after his head (which he did hit). What do you think?

The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten a ton of contributions from rookies this season. Guys like Matt Read, Braydon Schenn and Sean Couturier have all been phenomenal this year.

Couturier, in particular, has been just insane on defense. Not many 19-year old kids are told to shut down Evgeni Malkin…and then are able to go out and do it. So, when he went down with a leg injury last week in a game against the New Jersey Devils, there was cause for concern.

But, Sam Carchidi tweets that he could return on Sunday night for Game 4, which would be great news for Flyers fans.

“Center Sean Couturier is making a quick recovery from a leg injury and is expected to be in the Flyers’ lineup tonight. Officially, it’s a game-time decision. Mez will not play tonight and is possible for Tues,” he tweets.

Mez is Andrej Meszaros, who hasn’t played in forever. So that’s of no consequence. However, getting Couturier back would be a nice addition, even if it wouldn’t solve the Flyers’ problems with the Devils fore check.

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk missed the team’s Game 2 victory on Tuesday night with a back issue. It probably helped the team win considering he was so god awful on defense in Game 1.

But, on Thursday, he says he’s healthy and ready for Thursday’s Game 3, which will be played on Thursday of this week.

“I feel good and I’m ready to go,” Kovalchuk said.

Head coach Pete DeBoer, however, says that Kovalchuk will be a “game-time decision.”

“I think with players, these guys know their bodies better than doctors, coaches, anybody else,” DeBoer said. “So, it’s not me seeing something. It’s him knowing what we need out of him and whether he feels his body is capable of giving us that. That’s where we’re at. Players have to make those decisions.”

It sounds like Ilya already made that decision then. Looks like he’ll be suiting up in New Jersey for a crucial game in the series tied at 1-1.

“Why would you sit there and rest if you feel better and you’re ready to go?” Kovalchuk asked. “Now, Pete, he will decide what he wants to see in the lineup tonight.”

We first saw this on our buddy Cleveland’s Facebook page. He went to Game 1 of the series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. When I saw this picture, I just thought “that guy has some balls.”

If you haven’t figured it out, No. 17 Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers is black. And this guy thought it would be funny/endearing to get a Simmonds Flyers jersey with “The Black Guy” on the back of it.

Simmonds claimed in the pre-season that he was used to the racism stuff. This was after a Canadian fan threw a banana on the ice as he prepared to take a penalty shot. But, whether he’s strong enough to deal with it or not, he shouldn’t have to be. While this isn’t the most offensive thing we’ve ever seen, it’s not remotely necessary.

Dude should have more class than that.

Pittsburgh Penguins super stud Evgeni Malkin has been out since October 13th due to lingering issues with his surgically repaired knee. He missed a lot of last year with a torn ACL.

But, according to Penguins’ head coach Dan Bylsma, he could actually be a go for Saturday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

“He had a couple of practices — good, hard practices with Sidney,” Bylsma said. “(Yesterday) was his first one back in full practice, so that’s a good sign. He’s doing pretty well, and we are still seeing about (Saturday night’s game).”

We don’t know for sure, but one would have to think that they’ll err on the side of caution. No use rushing him back only to have more damage done. Especially with no timetable for Sidney Crosby’s return, they really need Malkin.

Amid much trade speculation, the New Jersey Devils have finally sent Jamie Langenbrunner packing. Many in Philadelphia were hoping it would be to the Flyers, but instead, they have sent him to the Dallas Stars.

In return, the Devils will get a conditional third-round pick in 2011. If Dallas wins a playoff round this year or they re-sign Langenbrunner, then the pick becomes a second rounder.

“When it’s a quality person who has given you what Jamie has given, been part of success, a Stanley Cup, then certainly (the trade) is difficult,” Devils’ President/CEO/GM Lou Lamoriello said. “But if it were easy, anybody could do some of these things we have to do. Unfortunately, the decision with the status that we’re in, is being made for the right reasons.”

Langenbrunner had been a Devil for the past eight years, and he now returns to where he started his career.

The New Jersey Devils have had enough bad news this season. It usually comes when they read the scoreboard following a game. But this morning, it came in the way of injury information on their Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur.

Brodeur saw a doctor Saturday morning about his sore elbow. He had an MRI and was told that he needs to rest the elbow for a minimum of 10 days. That will keep him out likely until the game against the Montreal Canadiens on December 2nd.

The good news, however, is that there doesn’t seem to be any structural damage.

“He had an MRI yesterday. He was examined by all our own doctors, including the doctors that did the surgery on his other arm,” Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “Every MRI was negative. There is nothing structurally (damaged) there.”

Have fun with that, Devils fans.

New Jersey Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur has been battling an injured elbow for a little while now. And things certainly didn’t get better when he tweaked the bruised elbow in a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday night. Brodeur had to leave the game after two periods.

He is now heading back to New Jersey and will see Dr. Steven Beldner in Manhattan (although it must be made clear that Manhattan is not in New Jersey).

“I’m concerned. I’m not scared of it,” Brodeur said. “I know the percentage is it’s nothing really, really bad. I think it’s just the time (to heal). Maybe I’m going to have to sit a little longer to heal it properly and come back when there’s nothing, not try to go through it like I’ve been getting prepared. I can’t practice. I can’t do certain things. It’s just not fun.”

Brodeur said there is a chance that he rejoins the team in St. Louis on Saturday so that he can be part of all the losing.

“I don’t believe there’s anything wrong,” Brodeur said. “It’s just not healing. That’s a little concerning. I’ve been trying to play. I think it’s tough for everybody right, It’s like every single game I take a step back. I felt great the last two days. We did a lot of good things to help the healing process, but one little thing happens and I just go back to square one.”

He was asked if it is possible that there is more than just a bruise there.

“You know what? It’s got to be a nerve or something, but maybe when I got hit. I don’t know what it is. It’s just not healing properly. And now I’ve been every single little muscle around it to compensate that thing that I got. It’s just not getting better, so we’re going to go back and take a look at it.”

Brodeur isn’t a kid anymore and these injuries can be a really pain in the ass. Ask Brett Favre.

The New Jersey Devils don’t have a lot to be excited about this season. They have yet to win a game at home and their 4-10-2 record is good for last in the league. Ilya Kovalchuk, the “stud” they spent big-time money on, has eight point so far this year and is a -7.

Nope, there ain’t a lot to be happy about in North Jersey.

However, they did get a small ray of hope on Thursday when goalie Martin Brodeur was finally able to practice with the team. He’s not quite ready to come back yet from his elbow injury, but this is a positive step.

Photo Caption: Brodeur regularly drinks warm cat urine before every game.

“I don’t want to say ‘yes’ and then come tomorrow and it gets all sore (overnight),” he said. ‘It’s the first time I’ve been using it for a week. I’d definitely like to play. If I feel like I did this morning on the ice, I’m OK to play. But I don’t know how it’s going to respond. This is the first time I’ve been using it and tiring it as much as I did. It’s not like I was doing rehab or weight work with it. I was just icing it for a week.”

The Devils stink and Kovalchuk got booed the other night, but at least they might get their old goalie back soon.

Holy bejesus and back. I don’t think anyone saw this coming, especially after the complete nightmare that the New Jersey Devils endured just trying to get this cat signed in the offseason. But, yeah, it’s true, Ilya Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.

And, according to head coach John Maclean, something went down that made him sit the guy making $100 million over 15 years. But, he wouldn’t say what exactly.

“That’s between him and I,” MacLean said. “That was my decision.”

It’s only the eighth game of the year and Kovalchuk is tied for the team lead with five points. Something clearly happened and we don’t know what. Was he late to a practice? Did he bang MacLean’s wife? Is MacLean even married?

Stay tuned on this one. We’d love to know what Kovalchuk did to get benched.

This is great. Like, exactly what should have been done from the beginning. We are no attorney, contract expert or salary capologist, but even we knew that the rules on these long NHL contract was stupid.

So, sources tell TSN that the NHL will approve Ilya Kovalchuk’s 15-year, $100 million front-loaded, BS contract with the understanding that there will be a rule amendment so that this is the last of these nonsense contracts.

The rule as it is now simply divides the total amount of money by the number of years on the deal, making the contract very cap friendly. But different years have different value amounts, with the back ends paying next to nothing, at a time when the dude will be old and possible retired anyway.

It was dumb then and it’s dumb now. The NHL was wise to get this cleared up.

This is getting interesting. Someone doesn’t want Ilya Kovalchuk to sign with the New Jersey Devils. An arbitrator voided the contract he originally signed with the team, and now the NHL has rejected the latest proposed framework.

While no formal contract was submitted, the two sides talked conceptually.

Photo Caption: Devils executives are asked about the possibility of the NHL rejecting Kovalchuk’s contract terms.

“I think the guideposts are already out there,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Yahoo! Sports. “I think the clubs and the players and the agents all understand what our response has been to certain types of contracts. And I think every contract is different.”

With the KHL season starting September 8th, there is speculation that Kovalchuk could just go over there to play in Russia.

An independent arbitrator has agreed with the NHL that the contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils is a bunch of crap. Kovalchuk had signed a 17-year, $102 million deal with the Devils that was completely outrageous and designed to pay him a ton while keeping his cap number low.

You see, the NHL is a second-rate league that can’t get out of its own way. Hence, they come up with a salary cap that has easy loopholes for people to exploit. It took an independent person to step in and see that, despite the stupid cap rules, this was out of hand.

So, Kovalchuk is once again a free agent. But, fear not Devils fans, the team still wants to sign him.

“While we do not currently have a contract with Ilya Kovalchuk, discussions have resumed and we are hopeful that a contract will be reached that meets with the principles in arbitrator Bloch’s award and the NHL’s approval,” said Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello.

Obviously, the NHLPA ain’t happy about this.

In a statement, they said they are “disappointed with the arbitrator’s ruling to uphold the NHL’s rejection of the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk.”

Yeah, well then try to avoid ridiculous contracts that are complete BS and designed to circumvent the cap. You’ll be alright.

Remember that 17-year contract that the New Jersey Devils agreed to with Ilya Kovalchuk? It was set to pay him tons of money until the last six years of the deal, when they’d only owe him some $550,000 per year.

Well, it ain’t happening.

The NHL has blocked the contract, saying that it circumvents the salary cap. So now, the deal must be reworked.

Photo Caption: Maybe wait until the deal is completely finalized before having one of these and wasting everyone’s time?

The 17-year, $102 million contract was set to pay him $95 million over the first 10 years of the contract, and just $7 million over the final seven years. That would be an annual cap hit of $6 million. Anyone else’s BS meter go off? Apparently, the NHL’s did.

A person with knowledge of the situation tells NJ.com that the Devils can rework and refile the contract. Also, the NHL Player’s Union can file a grievance.

We’d have to think that this is going to get done some way, some how, unless it results in Kovy taking significantly less money. He already rejected a 12-year, $102 million deal from the Atlanta Thrashers. But if the Devils don’t have the cap space to give him an NHL-approved deal, then Kovalchuk might end up in the 404 area code just yet.

You read that right. Ilya Kovalchuk has re-signed with the New Jersey Devils and it’s an insane contract. The NHL’s CBA is a complete joke and teams are abusing it constantly.

Kovalchuk signed a 17-year (you read that corrently), $100-plus million contract with the Devils that will keep him in a red jersey until he’s 44-years old. Sound ridiculous? It is.

The 27-year old basically agreed to a deal that will pay him very well in the near future, but by the time he’s in his late 30′s, it will be easy for him to retire and the team won’t be on the hook for anything cap wise.

Photo Caption: Now THAT…..is a hot ass.

So how can this be? Like we said before, the NHL’s CBA is a bunch of crap. Cap hits are determined by the average salary in a contract. Hence, if you have an immensely long contract, your average is low and thus your cap number is manageable.

Here are the official numbers by year, which helps to explain what we are talking about:

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 Million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000

So the Devils and Kovalchuk are the big winners in this. The NHL’s CBA? The big loser. Again. Get your crap together, NHL.

Getting a hockey team to win your division and earn the No. 2 seed can really energize a coach and a franchise. Getting your rear ends handed to you in five games by the No. 7 seed can really deflate a coach and a franchise.

And New Jersey Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire is so deflated, he’s decided to retire.

“It’s tough to leave what you like, but it’s a decision that I made,” he said.

Lemaire did say that the decision had absolutely nothing to do with the team’s poor performance in the playoffs, but please just allow us to believe what we want to believe.

“It’s not the team, it is not the result or the lack of result we had in the playoffs,” a slightly misty Lemaire said. “It’s not that at all. It’s the end of the line. I’ll be 65. It’s just time.”

“I didn’t see that coming,” goaltender Martin Brodeur said. “I think Jacques has a lot of passion for the game and he showed it all throughout the year and the playoffs, and I think that drive was there. It seems to be there, but he knows it better than anybody and you have to accept what he wants to do.”

Many experts are already speculating that because Lemaire is retiring that the Devils’ head coaching position will be vacant. This leads us to wonder whether or not the Devils will have a new coach on the bench next year.

The Philadelphia Flyers are going to start Michael Leighton in goal tonight despite the fact that they’ve lost his last two starts. Still, he was pretty good in those starts and it’s not like the Flyers have Pelle Linbergh in his prime sitting on the bench. Tonight, look for the Flyers to take on the New Jersey Devils at home tonight as they take on the New Jersey Devils at home.

Leighton has a 9-7-1 record with a 2.89 GAA and .902 save percentage in 21 games this season

One of the best teams in hockey, just got a little better.  I mean a lot better.  The New Jersey Devils acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela, and the Thrashers’ 2010 second round pick from Atlanta for the Devils’ 2010 first and second round picks, John Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, and Patrice Cormier on Thursday night.

Obviously, the prize for the Devils was getting back Anssi Salmela who was in their system last year before getting traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Niclas Havelid in March, 2009.  In 29 games this year, the 25-year old already has five points and a plus/minus rating of four.

Hold on, our information seems to be incorrect…

Apparently, Ilya Kovalchuk was the targeted player.  The Russian has 328 goals in the past eight seasons and only Alex Ovechkin has more goals than him in the past five.  Okay, that makes more sense.  This guy is good.

Kovalchuk turned down a a 12-year, $101 million deal with the Thrashers during the off season because he wants to negotiate a long-term deal with a franchise that has a longer track record of success.  That narrows it down to every single NHL team, but Atlanta.

Bergfors and Cormier were two of the Devils top prospects and the price may prove to be a little tough to swallow for a player who might not be back next year, but New Jersey has a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup this season, so it’s definitely worth the gamble.