Ushering in a New Era | 10 TAKEAWAYS

I sat in the chair in the Devils new Legacy Lounge prepping for my interview with Mike Bolt, just like any other interview, I scour over my notes, making sure I know what I want to get out of the interview, and then put my notes away and wait.
There is something very different about waiting for a player or coach to enter an interview room. It's routine by now, after 15 years in this business, it's part of the day-to-day grind.
I thought to myself, why do I feel nervous about an inanimate object arriving. I think to myself, I'm going to be distracted sitting next to it. Time to focus.
The Stanley Cup was coming to Prudential Center.
The nerves might sound crazy, but I'm being honest when I say they were there. When Bolt, one of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Keepers of the Cup arrived, out of his trunk came the box that holds Lord Stanley. There is nothing unique about the box, it's like any other travel box on wheels to make it easily transportable. And yet, everyone knew what it was. As it made its way through the Prudential Center garage, someone stopped and asked, 'is that the Stanely Cup?!'. Even in its box, tucked away in the blue velvet lining, people just know.
Twice more it happened while rolling through the Prudential Center hallways.
In the smallest way, that is the allure of what has to be the greatest trophy in all of sports, and I was honored to sit down next to the real one (there is a replica that spends its days at the Hockey Hall of Fame) and dive deep into its history and the behind the scene stories of this incredible Cup.
So many great stories are ahead in this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

1.

I loved what Devils SVP of Marketing Jillian Frechette had to say about the
Devils third jersey
, released to the public yesterday:
"Our fans were potentially expecting something a little different, but they were longing for black. For us as a brand, and as a team, it's the ability to pay homage to our past but take this bold step forward as a brand. And I think that's the most critical piece."
This new era of Devils players, the ones who will carry the franchise forward are a group of young, exciting, and bold players ready to make themselves and the team better each day. The franchise over the last few years, with the addition of all this young talent, has started to take on it's own personality, they're outgoing, they're exciting, they're bold individuals. It makes for a great group to be around and a great time for that 'bold step forward.'

Video: The state. The people. The next era.

2.

I had such an interesting conversation this week sitting down with one of the Keepers of the Cup, Mike Bolt.
Our conversation
lasted 25 minutes, and I promise it's worth the time. There are just so many good stories from Mike and I had a ton of fun doing the interview. Sitting next to the Stanley Cup, it's really quite surreal. It truly is the most beautiful trophy in sport and when you get to look at it up close (don't worry, I didn't touch it! But does that legend count for employees too?), it's even more spectacular. It kind of feels ridiculous to be nervous because of an inanimate object in your presence but it just has that presence.

3.

I asked the fans what questions they wanted to be answered from Mike Bolt and the most asked question was how many pairs of gloves he travels with. The answer is more pairs of gloves than there are days on any given trip he takes with the Cup. I love how he described it too:
"You have a sock drawer, an underwear drawer and I have a white glove drawer too!"

4.

What was unique about having Mike Bolt come in with the Cup was that his first year traveling with Lord Stanley was when the New Jersey Devils won back in 2000, so he had some pretty great stories about players we're all very familiar with. I had to ask; did anyone ask him to do something with the Cup where he had to draw the line?
That one goes to Jason Arnott, who either wanted to skydive with it or take it underwater, maybe scuba diving. Bolt couldn't remember which one the ask was from Arnott but suggested neither would have passed the approval process!

5.

I couldn't be happier for Yegor Sharangovich, scoring his first two goals of the season against Tampa Bay. The first one, the game-tying goal at one in the first period followed by the game-winner in the third period. You can only hope that it will light a spark that will carry over going forward.
It wasn't just the goals themselves, it was how they were scored that might lead you to think the proverbial monkey may be off Yegor's back. They were both so reminiscent of so many of his goals last season, taking next to no time to release the puck upon reception. It will be so important for this team to get that secondary scoring that was so heavily relied on last season from Yegor. Lindy Ruff has talked time and time again about the need to take advantage of every opportunity or someone else will, well this here is another chance for Yegor.

6.

I also cannot stress enough how big those goals were just from a team and game standpoint. While the Lightning hasn't necessarily looked like their Stanley Cup winning selves as much this season, they're still a monstrous team to beat. The win was enormous for New Jersey, to go .500 on the quick road trip, to put up four goals straight in the third, to end the Lightning's 9-game point streak, to be 8-5-3 instead of 7-6-3. It's just one win difference, but those numbers feel astonishingly different, especially in a division as tight as the Metropolitan Division is.

7.

Count me among those who did not imagine that Dawson Mercer would be in the tie for the lead in points for New Jersey 16 games into the season. He's tied with 12 points alongside Jesper Bratt. That's certainly no knock on Dawson, it's more of a compliment. It's hard to score in this league. There are times were Mercer makes it look easy.

8.

It doesn't get much better than seeing Jack Hughes on the ice with his teammates (okay, it does, that would be him in a game with his teammates). But to see him spend roughly 15 minutes with his teammates the other day on the ice was so great to see. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who loves the game more than Jack, someone who just loves being on the ice. I cannot imagine, after playing just four (incredibly remarkable) periods of hockey this season, to see his season all of a sudden halted, what that must have felt like, and the uncertainty of what situation he would be returning to. And that is truly the key and something I didn't think about until we spoke to P.K. Subban earlier this week.

9.

Here's P.K.'s quote: "We rallied around (Jack's absence), we wanted to make sure that when he comes back, he doesn't have the world of pressure on his shoulders." That 'the world of pressure on Jack's shoulders" part of the quote really struck me because it made so much sense. Jack puts enough pressure on himself to begin with and even more so knowing that he drives so much of the offense on this team. To put the team in a position where Jack can come back and not have to feel that added pressure, that's the best-case scenario for everyone. Jack is the type of person, player, and character where he would put that responsibility on himself to carry a team in need. A while the Devils are always in need of Jack Hughes, the team to date, have put themselves in a good spot with his impending return.

10.

Ho-hum. The Utica Comets still haven't lost a game.
They're 13-0-0.
No big deal.
Nothing to see here.