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To give NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman some credit, he’s working hard to make sure the 2019-2020 playoffs go ahead. Despite teams announcing cases of COVID-19, the focus is still on which hub cities will host. The lockdown, in its various forms depending where you live, has given time for reflection and as I sit here with my iced-latte, wondering what July will bring, two things are clear: it’s summer, and I don’t care about the NHL resuming. That’s not say I’m not excited about next season. I can’t wait for everyone to be fit and healthy again, and to see what the Yzerplan will bring.Read More →

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With 75% of the regular season completed, it’s common for watercooler talk to turn to ‘who’s gonna win some awards?’. Here at 4th Line Towers, we’re no different, but rather than look at the awards that already exist, why not focus on awards that should exist. Today we’re looking at the Why Haven’t You Been Fired Yet award. The contenders are Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and head coach Claude Julien and LA Kings head coach Todd McLellan. Claude Julien Embed from Getty Images Should he be fired? Julien returned to coach Montreal in February 2017 to replaceRead More →

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has fallen out with the NHL again. His expletive filled tirade after the Jackets’ shoot-out loss to Chicago has already hit headlines. If you’re not familiar with the reason for this, it’s because Columbus’ game winning goal was ruled no good as the buzzer had already sounded to end overtime. However there was an infraction prior to this and Tortorella argues that not enough time was added back in. Had that extra second been added then the goal would have stood. Instead the game went to a shoot out and Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo was hurt while blockingRead More →

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The current state of hockey in the Motor City is bleak, the Detroit Red Wings have taken just 17 points from 32 games. The season is still early, but it feels like 2019-20 is shaping up to be one of Detroit’s worst. Which begs the question, what was the Red Wings’ worst NHL season? And how do you measure this? Embed from Getty Images The NHL has changed a lot in the time that the Wings have won their 11 Stanley Cups, but one thing is consistent; if you’re not winning games, you’re not winning cups. To that end, lets use win percentage as ourRead More →

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Cherrygate may have dominated headlines and water-cooler talk across Canada (at least until some dude in Toronto also got fired for unrelated shortcomings), but the dust has mostly settled and watching all this from the sidelines has gifted Alex and Mike a different perspective on the whole kerfuffle. Alex: European; lives in Canada Now for all you kids out there who don’t know me- I was not born in the Great White North nor did I grow up playing the great game on ice with my buddies. Originally, I was born in the hockey free Winchester, England a town which didn’t celebrate legends such asRead More →

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Feeling The Pain Sometimes it’s tough being a fan of the Detroit Red Wings. The sweeping highs are often balanced out the necessary lows that come with being a hockey team playing in the NHL. But when the team are 1-8-1 in their last games, that’s hard to take. Even worse, the Wings are bottom of the Atlantic division, behind Ottawa. OTTAWA. The teams may be tied on points but Ottawa have three games in hand and only a -10 goal differential compared to Detroit’s astonishing -33. The Red Wings have played four games in November and have lost every one by a margin ofRead More →

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Which NHL teams have surprised us by starting the season badly? Some teams are expected to have a weak start cough-Ottawa-cough, but others should be better. Let’s take a look at some teams that we had higher expectations of by this stage of the season: New Jersey Devils – Ed The excitement of the 2019 off-season was short-lived, as New Jersey got off to a slow start to the 2019-20 season, going 0-4-2 in their first six games before back-to-back wins over the Rangers (3-2) and Canucks (1-0 shutout). Though the offensive firepower has been there at times, New Jersey’s defense struggled heavily out ofRead More →

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The 2019-20 NHL season is well under way now. Some teams have had hot starts, while others are struggling to find a win. Which teams have had the hottest starts though? We sat our writing team down around the table to get their opinions on which teams have been dominant and have made the most of their early fixtures.   Colorado Avalanche – Carl There’s nothing more dominant than getting a point in every game so far this season. At the time of writing, the Avalanche sit atop the standings with a record of 7-0-1, a pace that certainly will not be maintained. But canRead More →

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The 2018 Stanley Cup winning Washington Capitals were set to go the distance again, but instead of breaking records, all the 2019 playoffs brought were broken hearts and very broken brackets. This season will be better. It has to be, doesn’t it? Embed from Getty Images Notable Players In: Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Brendan Leipsic Notable Players Out: Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik First Key Game: St. Louis Blues – October 2nd. Odds to win the division 7:1 (1st overall) (via Betway) Embed from Getty Images Is this a bet worth taking? The Washington Capitals are rightfully the favorites to win this division. That said, theRead More →

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While division rivals Tampa Bay had last season sewn-up pretty much by November, there was an interesting battle to see which other Canadian teams (that weren’t Ottawa) would make the playoffs. In the end Toronto finished just four points ahead of Montreal, but those four points were enough to secure the Leafs the 3rd playoff spot in the Atlantic, while the Habs finished just outside of the wildcard places. Notable Players In: Cody Ceci, Ben Harpur, Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Jake Gardiner, Patrick Marleau, Ron Hainsey, Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen First Key Game: MontrealRead More →