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The guys are back and so is NHL hockey in Seattle! Okay, so it’s new to the city, but it’s coming, and are here to break down all of the implications of it, including how this effects the NHL’s potential upcoming work stoppage and what it means for the alignment of the divisions. Zach Hyman was suspended two games this week. Which raises a few questions, such as “Huh?” and “Oh really?” The NHL is bringing purple pucks to the Winter Classic. Or invisible pucks if you ask the right people. What kind of games is the NHL playing with the puck? A spin isRead More →

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From the Quiet Ice . . . by Mike Filce In-game Entertainment You can’t help noticing with all of the pundits, talking heads, bloggers, podcasters and assorted Twitter-drunk commentators, some ideas come up again and again, and some of them receive respectful consideration — when they should be squashed like the stink bugs they are. Let’s look at a few. Late in a recent “31 Thoughts” podcast episode, Jeff Marek broached the topic of “pump[ing] up the home team” with in-game music. We’re talking about the practice of silencing the music as the puck drops so fans can hear the sounds of the game. ElliotteRead More →

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The guys are back and so is William Nylander! William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs have finally agreed to terms on a new contract. How happy is Joel? The Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche faced off which meant that one of us lost a bet and Tyler Bertuzzi was suspended for fighting someone from the bench. Should it have been allowed? The NHL Board of Governors is meeting, which means that we get to hear Gary Bettman talk (yeah!) about things such as: – The salary cap going up – The Seattle Future NHL Team being an actual team – Being another personRead More →

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Back in September when we all found out that Erik Karlsson was being traded to the San Jose Sharks, every Ottawa Senators fan lost a little piece of themselves. Just like Daniel Alfredsson’s return to Ottawa, Erik Karlsson will be making his first appearance against his former club on December 1st. Embed from Getty Images How the trade has panned out so far When looking at the trade from a fan’s point of view, the Senators fans felt like they could have received so much more in return. Fast forward to present day, that trade is looking better and better by the day. Erik KarlssonRead More →

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The guys are back and another person has been fired in the NHL. This time it was Ron Hextall, being removed as the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. What direction will the Flyers go now that the architect of their franchise is gone? The Arizona Coyotes traded Dylan Strome, along with Brendan Perlini, to the Chicago Blackhawks for Nick Schmaltz. Did they give up too soon on Strome? Carl is in love with Mikko Rantanen. But how much? He plays a game of Would You Rather. Which, somehow, rekindles the Blake Wheeler contract debate. With the William Nylander contract situation about to be resolved, howRead More →

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Growing up in the 90’s few rivalries in the NHL came anywhere close to matching the Red Wings and Avalanche. It was hockey. They were talented, fast, physical, and most importantly, couldn’t stand the sight of each other. From the infamous Claude Lemieux hit on Chris Draper to Patrick Roy losing the puck after showboating on a save against Steve Yzerman, only to drop it and allow Detroit score, helping to force Game 7, their playoff match ups were the stuff of legend, leaving no shortage of memorable moments. From 1995 to 2002 they won 5 of 8 Stanley Cups, with Detroit losing in theRead More →

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The guys are back and ready to break down the news of the week in the NHL. Todd McLellan was fired by the Edmonton Oilers and Mike Yeo was fired by the St. Louis Blues. Is this the right direction for these organizations or just band-aids to fix a bigger issue? Specifically looking at Edmonton, on the heals of the Ryan Spooner for Ryan Strome deal, the question must be asked, “When will Peter Chiarelli be fired as well?” Carl Hagelin was dealt by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Los Angeles Kings for Tanner Pearson. Is this the move that will kickstart the Penguins? TheRead More →

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Here at The4thLinePodcast.com, we like a good arbitrary scale to give context to how we’re feeling about something. Now that we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season, I wanted share my thoughts on the Detroit Red Wings’ rebuild and in particular, head coach Jeff Blashill. To this end, I give you the Maxner – Bowman scale. It’s difficult to say who the worst ever coach was. The Red Wings, at times, have scraped the bottom of the proverbial barrel, but I’ve gone with Wayne Maxner. Maxner was behind the bench in the early 1980s, and his team was by no means packed withRead More →

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Carl, Joel and Nick are back to discuss the news of the week in the NHL, including: The Ottawa Senators private conversation in an Uber was made public, after mocking the coaching staff, which begs the questions: What is the long term implication of this for the Senators, what would Connor McDavid be making fun of and how big was the Uber driver’s vehicle? Joel Quenneville was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks. What’s the best fit for him as a head coach moving forward? The new class is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Gary Bettman and Martin Brodeur. Has Gary BettmanRead More →

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By Mike Filce, coming to you from the Quiet Ice Imagine for a moment that you were Gary Bettman and you wanted hitting gone from hockey. How would you go about it? For starters, you would have to make players far less interested in hitting, and that’s no easy feat. You have to make the cost of hitting higher than the reward — higher than the great feeling of delivering punishment, higher than the feeling of making statements for your team and higher even than elevating your value through this kind of play. The consequences would have to make it simply not worth it anyRead More →