9 – Marc Savard – In my opinion the most under rated player in the NHL, Savard is off to a typical start. With 6 goals and 10 assists early on this year, Savard has more then a point a game. When you draft Savard you expect him to tally a lot of assists, but at this current pace he will have more then 30 goals this season. Marc plays on a solid team with solid wingers and I would expect his numbers to remain around this level all year long. The biggest reason Savard is so high on my list is because of his penalty minutes, don’t look for those numbers to remain high.

8 – Ryan Clowe – The first major surprise on this list, Clowe is off to a career best start. Early on this year Ryan has 9 goals and 14 points, to go along with 21 penalty minutes. Out of all the players on this list, Clowe would be the one I am most skeptical about, and might think of trading while his value is high. Ryan is on pace to smash all his career marks, maybe by the half way point on the season. Clowe also has 8 power play points and a game winning goal this season.

7 – Jerome Iginla - Jerome is one of the best fantasy players you can have, he is off to a bit of a slow start, but is still number 7 on my list. With 9 goals and 19 points, Iginla is on pace to get the numbers he always gets. Currently the biggest problem having Jerome is that he is a minus 4 and he seems to be very streaky early on. You can over look the plus / minus for his 11 power play points and 50 plus shots so far. In my opinion Iginla has no where to go, but up on this list.

6 – Marian Hossa - Hossa has enjoyed his time with the Red Wings and Pavel Datsyuk so far this season. With 8 goals including 2 game winners, Hossa has been a top fantasy performer thus far. Marian has 17 points and over 50 shots, but his best stat is his plus 9 ranking, which is among the league leaders. Hossa is off to a fine start, but as he starts to get more familiar with is teammates is Detroit his numbers will improve.

5 – Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim has been on fire as of late and Getzlaf’s numbers have been excellent. Ryan has 19 points in just 16 games and is playing on the top line in Anaheim. Getzlaf will provide you with goals and points, but he will also give you penalty minutes with 25 so far this year. Look for Getzlaf to improve his numbers on the power play and continue to put up good numbers all year long. Getzlaf is a great player and his value is high right now, if you need to he could anchor a trade for your fantasy team.

4 – Thomas Vanek – Finally showing his super star ability, Vanek is off to the best start of his career. With 12 goals in just 14 games, Thomas is on pace to put up insane numbers this year. He has stuffed the fantasy stats so far this year with 60 plus shots, 2 game winning goals and short handed points. Vanek and Buffalo are off to great starts, but it is hard to believe he can keep this goal pace up. He is a point a game player in this league, but his value will probably never be higher then it is right now.

3 – Corey Perry - Hopefully you didn’t panic when Perry got off to a slow start, because he is now one of the best in the league. Perry has 18 points, 29 penalty minutes and 60 plus shots so far this season. This is the fastest turn around I have ever seen in fantasy hockey, through 6 games this year Perry had 1 point and was a minus 5 and in just 11 games increased his numbers to where they are now. Perry’s biggest value is his ability to get good numbers across the board goals, points, power play and penalty minutes.

2 – Evgeni Malkin - He is a true super star in this league and hasn’t disappointed early on this season.  He leads the league in assists with 18, points with 22 and power points with 11. He is also a plus 4 with a shorthanded point thus far. Malkin has been getting some ice time with Crosby and the 2 of them have been very productive. Look for Malkin to compete for the points title all year, he will start to score more goals eventually.

1 – Alexander Semin – Semin is off to the best start of his career and has filled up the fantasy stats thus far this season. 11 goals, 10 assists, an amazing plus 11, 2 shorthanded points and 2 game winning goals. Semin has always been highly talented and when he is motivated he will put up big numbers. Alexander’s value may never be higher then it I right now and if he was on my fantasy team I might consider trading him for a player you know will keep it up all year long. There is no denying he has been the best fantasy player so far in this NHL season.

The Tricks

Toronto Maple Leafs - Sorry Leaf fans, but your team just isn’t very talented. Yes, your teams plays hard and you have a great goaltender, but its not likely this team has a chance at a playoff spot. Look at it this way, if you play at the pace you are playing at right now you will end up fighting it out for the 8th and final playoff spot. Currently the Maple Leafs are in a three way tie for 8th in the East and they have scored 7 less goals then they have allowed. For the Maple Leafs franchise the worst thing that could happen is if they once again finish in 9th or 10th in the East and once again don’t get a lottery pick next year.

Mats Sundin - Here we go again, is he coming back for real this time? All summer long rumors of where Mats would end up were everywhere and now it looks like we are back to where we started. Mats is a great hockey player and most teams would love to have him. The way this ends up will be up to Mats, he can sign for big money with a team with cap space or take a smaller contract to join a Cup contender. I assume if Mats is coming back it is to be a winner and he will sign with the Rangers or Canadiens. Both those teams are up against the cap and I would like Mats to sign with a younger up and coming team that he could lead, Vancouver, Phoenix, Chicago and what about Mats in Pittsburgh. The rumors will continue to swirl until Mats makes a decision about his future, don’t get tricked, take these rumors with a grain of salt.

Tim Thomas - The Bruins goaltender continues to surprise everyone by playing excellent Vezina like net. Thomas is a fine goalie, but he is not this good, and his numbers will come back down to earth. Currently he has a goals against average under 2 and a save percentage of .939, those numbers are Vezina like and Thomas is good, but not that good.

Old Guys, Big Numbers – I love this, there are some old grizzled veterans off to great starts this year and look to be the players of old. Most of these guys cannot keep this pace up, but if they do it will be a great story all year. 34 year old Paul Kariya has 12 points in 9 games for St Louis, he is on pace for 100 points a mark he hasn’t reached since 1999. Markus Naslund (35), Mike Modano (38), Joe Sakic (39) and Keith Tkachuk (36) are all at or near a point a game so far. All these guys are proving they can still play this game, and I for one hope they keep it up, but it is unlikely.

The Treats

Martin Brodeur - Brodeur is a legend, and by the end of this year this might end up being the season of Brodeur. He is getting close to breaking two all time goalie records, wins and shutouts. Its not if its when he breaks those records he will get serious consideration as the best net minder in National Hockey League history. This generation has been treated to a lot of great NHL players, and Martin is definitely one of those guys that will never be forgotten. The 35 year old net minder is off to a great start posting 5 wins, 2 shutouts and a save percentage of .914. Brodeur cannot play forever and we should enjoy his skill, while we can.

Fast Starts - Pre season predications are usually a crap shoot, but his year some of those highly predicted teams are off to great starts. The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks are all living up to the hype. These are the top four teams in the league and have been fun to watch on a night to night basis. I look for these teams to keep it up all year they have the talent, coaching and structure to compete for the Stanley Cup. Without injuries these might end up being the top 4 teams at years end.

Dynamic Duos – All hockey love watching skill play with skill, and this year we have found some new duos to excite us. At the top of this list Pittsburgh has put there stars Malkin and Crosby together and it has been great to watch ever since. The two have combined for 29 points in 11 games and are leading there team to wins. The Red Wings new duo of Hossa and Datsyuk have been great to watch combining for 26 points and Heatley and Spezza are still good in Ottawa with 11 goals.

Thomas Vanek – The highly paid and very talented winger in Buffalo has come in to his own early this year. The Sabres have to be extremely happy that Vanek has scored 9 goals in 10 games and has recorded 12 points. Vanek and the rest of the Buffalo team is exciting to watch, they are fast and highly talented. He may not score at this pace all year, but I think he will keep his points up and lead the Sabres all year.

The year has been full of treats thus far, fights are up goals are up and there is a lot of good young talent in the league. Happy Halloween and enjoy the action this weekend

Philadelphia Flyers – A lot of hockey people picked the Flyers to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and guess what they have zero wins.. There seems to be a lot of problems here, but the most prevalent is the goals they are allowing. Don’t blame it all on the goalies, the defense looks lost out there. This team might need to trade one of there forwards to get a good defenseman. I don’t know if there is a trade to be made, but I would be looking if I was the GM in Philadelphia. Its obvious that something has to change, the defense is soft and Biron isn’t good enough to over come these time of defensive problems. The Flyers don’t tend to be a patient franchise and if this continues they will make deals that they think will improve there club. I am not ready to give up on this team, its only six games and they are to talented.

The Anaheim Ducks have only scored 16 goals in 7 games, they will not win a lot of games in the West averaging just over two goals a game.

Back to Canada - I have heard a lot of talk this week about putting another team in Canada. I hope this is a relocation idea, not expansion, this league doesn’t need more teams. We need to face facts some southern teams are struggling and they could end all that by putting a team north of the border. A lot of the talk surrounds putting a team in southern Ontario and maybe even a second team in Toronto. Not a bad idea, I’m not sure whether another team right in Toronto will work, but there are a lot of fans and money in southern Ontario. Other possibilities have putting team back in Winnipeg or Quebec City or what about Halifax. First off I think if a team is going to move the likely candidate is Nashville, sorry Preds fans, but you have ownership problems and you just don’t have enough of a fanbase. Hockey people realize that it is easy money to put a team in Ontario and it will be harder and harder to keep the franchises away.

Jason Blake is going to be a healthy scratch from the Maple Leafs lineup when they take on Boston. This has to hurt for a guy who had 40 goals just 2 seasons ago. He has never produced in Toronto and it looks like he has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff.

Evgeni Malkin leads the league in points with 11 and Thomas Vanek leads with 7 goals. Big surprise Malkin leads the league in assists and Vanek looks like he might be that star Buffalo hoped he would be.

Goalie Problems – I am not surprised that some teams have some serious goaltending problems early in the year. I am not surprised about Martin Gerber in Ottawa, Jose Theodore in Washington or Peter Budaj in Colorado. If these teams want to compete this year, they will need to figure this out. Budaj and Gerber especially, how about making a trade, we all know Khabibulin is available. “The Bulin Wall” is off to a great start, and it might be time one of these teams make a move for him. Yes, he makes way to much money, but you have to do what you have to do if you want to win. All around goalies haven’t been very good guys like Turco, Osgood, Luongo and Bryzgalov are all not playing as we expect them to. It is early and there is no reason to panic for most team, but if I was an Ottawa or Colorado fan I might be a touch concerned about the future.

Martin Brodeur had his 98th career shutout. Brodeur is a future hall of famer and is getting close to the all time shutout and wins records. When it is all said and done Brodeur might be considered the best goalie of all time.

Sarah Palin will drop the puck at an NHL game again, this time in St. Louis. I am sure her and her supporters hope to get a better response then they did in Philly.

The Ottawa Senators continue to struggle at home and have started re arranging there lines. Spezza will try to play on the second line, while Fischer will play with Alfredsson and Heatley. This team is struggling and I think need to make a major shake up move, in my opinion trading Spezza might be something they should look into.

Don’t worry its not panic time yet for most teams, the season is still very young. Goaltending is a big issue all over the league, but that was predicted in the pre season. You cannot truly evaluate how a season is going until your team has played about 20 games, at that point you might see some teams scramble to make there clubs better. The NHL product has been great so far and I look forward to more great story lines as the year continues.