Hope is alive for an 82 game season! The NHL submitted a proposal to the NHLPA this week. You can find a full copy of it online if you really want to know the specifics. As for the Devils' players, there are still only five players playing abroad. Kovalchuk, Zharkov, and Volchenkov are playing the the KHL. Zidlicky is in the Czech Extraliga and Gavrus, a Devils' prospect, is playing in Belarus.
Player Summaries
Artur Gavrus played in one game and notched an assist while improving to a plus 1. Other than that, there hasn't been any change in Gavrus' status.
Vladimir Zharkov was held scoreless in a couple of games last week. He also has dropped to a minus 3. Zharkov has only put up two points in fourteen games. For a player who needs to prove himself this season, he's not doing a good job.
Anton Volchenkov has played 3 games since deciding to play in the KHL and has a minus two to show for it. Volchenkov is most likely getting acclimated to the league. Also, he doesn't really have a knack for scoring, so he will most likely not pick up many points in the KHL.
Marek Zidlicky's stat line hasn't changed. This is good for two reasons. The first is that Zidlicky has been taking a lot ofpenalties early in the season, it's nice to see that he is playing a little cleaner game. Second, he is still a plus six through ten games.
And last but not least, Kovalchuk has been going on a tear through the KHL. 6 goals and 12 asists through 10 games. Can Kovalchuk keep this up? He sure can. The KHL does not have quite the competitive balance that the NHL could boast about, if it had a season. Below is a highlight from SKA's win over Amur.
Not only has Kovalchuk been lighting up the scoreboard, but he laid a huge hit a few games ago. (Kovy is the #8 play of the week)
Kovalchuk's great all around play has SKA as number one in the KHL.
Player Stats as of 10/18
| Player | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | PIM | +/- |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | KHL | SKA St. Petersburg | 10 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 11 |
| Vadimir Zharkov | KHL | CSKA Moscow | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3 |
| Marek Zidlicky | Czech Extraliga | HC Kladno | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 6 |
| Anton Volchenkov | KHL | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 |
| Artur Gavrus | Belarus | HC Neman | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Other Devils Heading Abroad?
Tom Gulitti reported that the Devils Future Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur, has said he is not quite ready to make a decision about playing hockey anywhere other than the NHL.
Hopefully this will be the last week of writing about Devils' players abroad. Let's hope the NHL can preserve the 2012-13 season with a full schedule!