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It’s the holiday season and we here at the 4th Line are in a giving mood. We figured we’d share this generosity with the NHL teams and bring a little joy in these turbulent times. As we’re still negotiating a 4th Line merch deal, let’s see what else Santa Gritty has under the tree in the Pacific Division: Anaheim Ducks Shooter Tutors: Anaheim’s mightiest Ducks don’t need all that much from Santa Claus, they’re heading into the break second in the division. With the practice facilities closed, the team might want to add some Shooter Tutors to their Christmas List. The Ducks have lost moreRead More →

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Inspired by the rumours that PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino was returning to manage Spurs (now debunked), this got me wondering how many NHL head coaches had been rehired by their former teams, and whether or not they found success second time around. I know the head coach merry-go-round is very active in the NHL, but it turns out that a lot of coaches have been given a second bite of the cherry, so in this irregular series, I’ll be taking a look at some of those coaches to see if it was better second time around. Randy Carlyle – Mighty Ducks of Anaheim/Anaheim Ducks. EmbedRead More →

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In episode #336, Carl and Nick asked if the Conn Smythe Trophy has ever been awarded to a player who wasn’t top goal/point scorer or goalie with best save percentage? Great question! The Conn Smythe is awarded to the player deemed most valuable for his team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and in all but five occasions, has gone to a player on the winning side. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association vote to decide who wins. Is it a foregone conclusion that the player who lifts the trophy will also be top of the stats chart? Let’s take a look: Assuming I finishRead More →

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In episode #329 of The 4th Line Hockey Podcast, the boys are discussing Connor McDavid‘s amazing tally of 100 points in this shortened season. Stevie Nick says this: …would McDavid be putting up this amount of points if he had to play every other team in the league? It’s a good question, and before the Edmonton fanbase starts waving their pitchforks, we all know that McDavid is absolutely the best player in the league. No argument there. Has he been helped by the fact that he’s only playing against six other teams? We’ll never know the answer for certain, but we can compare his unbelievableRead More →

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When the Tim Peel news broke, my immediate reaction was one of shock and surprise. Not that game management and make-up calls happen, but that this was somehow a surprise to a lot of people. Game management by officials has been part of the sport for a long, long time and while there’s an argument that it shouldn’t be, there’s a stronger argument that it should. Embed from Getty Images In a sport where every game is televised, officials are more under the microscope than ever before. Slow motion, multi-angle replays allow every call/missed call to be analyzed in minute detail. Often conveniently ignoring theRead More →

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The highlight of the Detroit Red Wings season so far is that they’re not Ottawa. Sorry Ottawa fans, but that’s really all we’ve got left to hold onto as Detroit fans. That said, I’m not stressing over it. This NHL season has been madness so far, and isn’t likely to last much longer, only the Canadian teams seem to be holding it together. Were this a typical season? I’d be losing my mind. I’ve no idea what coach Jeff Blashill is doing with the skaters he’s putting on the ice, or the coaching that’s going on between games. Nothing makes sense anymore. Red Wings andRead More →

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NHL hockey is back, and at time of writing has yet to be postponed/cancelled. With the divisional shakeups, we wanted to look at what the most exciting match-up is in each division. Which series of games will be most entertaining to watch? Which old rivalries have been reignited? Let’s take a look: North Division Edmonton Oilers vs Calgary Flames The Battle of Alberta is the most fierce of all hockey rivalries, in Alberta. Since October 1980, the Edmonton Oilers have been duking it out with the slightly more westerly Calgary Flames. For the record Calgary have the edge historically, and mostly battered the Oilers lastRead More →

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What would you get if the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions had a baby? It’s the East division! With the Christmas holidays wrapping up and a brand new NHL season approaching faster than Santa’s sleigh, let’s review what the teams of the ‘North’ division had asked for from St. Nick, hoping something good under their hockey stick tree. Boston Bruins On the Christmas List: The Next Torey Krug After nine seasons in Boston, big-time blue-liner Torey Krug upped and left for St. Louis. This leaves a big hole for the Bruins to fill as Krug is not great in front of his goalie, but also handy withRead More →

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What’s Going On? It looks like the NHL has finally cottoned onto the fact that helmets, jerseys, shorts etc are all super valuable sponsorship real estate. The reaction of fans has been somewhat mixed. For some reason, this is a big deal. Taking money to pop a company’s name on kit is nothing new in the world of most sports everywhere. #BREAKING: Sources say the #NHL Board of Governors could approve helmet ads for the '20-21 season as early as today, adding that it is "likely" the measure is approved in today's BOG call (@markjburns88). Free to read: https://t.co/xEReDCWZe3 pic.twitter.com/seLHduPKpm — Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd)Read More →

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It’s now December, and there’s still no sign of the NHL season starting in January, and I’m OK with that. The world isn’t in a place where it can support national league sports. From all of the Denver Bronco’s quarterbacks catching the virus, to the EPL postponing games. With the best will in the world, we’re just not ready yet. So what does the NHL do instead? Cancel the season and just focus on preparations for next October? This is definitely an option worth considering. As Carl and Nick discussed on the show, the financial impact of playing games without fans is so severe thatRead More →