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With the NHL season nearing its end, the draft and free agency are fast approaching. What’s generally a whirlwind to begin with will be imbued with the frenetic energy of a Doc Emrick goal call. It’ll be made all the more intriguing given the difficulty many teams will have adhering to the salary cap. More than any season since 2005-06 they’ll have to get creative moving forward. Some big names may be in new places before the puck drops on 2020-21. Embed from Getty Images   With that in mind, one team to watch is the Colorado Avalanche. A formidable group with a solid mixRead 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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Queue up “Gloria,” because coach Craig Berube, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jordan Binnington, and the rest of the defending Stanley Cup champions are ready to kickoff the 2019-20 title-defending season having returned all of its Stanley Cup-winning roster (minus hometown boy, Pat Maroon). Notable Players In:  Justin Faulk Notable Players Out:  Patrick Maroon, Joel Edmundson First Key Game:  October 5th, 2019 vs. Dallas Stars Odds to win the division 15:4 (2nd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? Absolutely worth betting on the defending Stanley Cup champions to win the division. However, bet with caution. The Central Division is expected to be aRead More →

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The Nashville Predators were favourites to go all the way to the 2019 Stanley Cup final, but surprised everyone by falling to the Dallas Stars in round one. Hoping to avoid a repeat this season, some big personnel changes have been made. Let’s preview what the Preds 2019-20 should look like: Notable Players In: Matt Duchene, Daniel Carr Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: P.K. Subban, Kevin Henderson, Wayne Simmonds, Brian Boyle, Cody McLeod First Key Game: Minnesota Wild – October 3rd Odds to win the division 17:4 (t-3rd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? The Preds are deep and aRead More →

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The Central division of the NHL is gearing up for a six team, season long frenzy for the top spot. Nearly the entire division has a realistic chance at clinching this branch of the wild west. Nearly. The Minnesota Wild find themselves in one of the most precarious positions in the league. Notable Players In: Ryan Donato, Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, Gabriel Dumont. Bill Guerin (General Manager) Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Hendricks, Nate Prosser, Pontus Aberg, Paul Fenton (General Manager) First Key Game: 10/3/19: MIN @ NSH Odds to win the division 50:1 (7th overall)Read More →

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The Dallas Stars: America’s (hockey) Team. Sometimes dominant, sometimes horse excrement, consistently inconsistent. Let’s preview the Stars’ season: Notable Players In: Corey Perry, Joe Pavelski, Andrej Sekera Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Mats Zuccarello, Jason Spezza, Marc Methot First Key Game: St. Louis Blues – October 5th Odds to win the division 17:4 (t-3rd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? Nope. The Central division has had its fair share of detractors over the past decade, but last season five of its teams went to the playoffs. It looks like a strong division again this season and the Stars will findRead More →

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Fresh off a postseason that saw them within one win of the Western Conference finals, the Colorado Avalanche will try to get back there. With some big offseason moves, is the new version of the Avalanche ready to conquer that task? Notable Players In: Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Joonas Donskoi, Bowen Byram, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Notable Players Out:  Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot, Semyon Varlamov, Carl Soderberg Embed from Getty Images First Key Game: October 3rd vs. Calgary Flames The first game of the season is a playoff re-match, at home in Denver. This will be a good test for both teams. Odds to win the division 5:2Read More →

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The Blackhawks organization was stuck between a rock and a hard place selecting third overall in the 2019 Entry Draft. With a defensive logjam already in their pool, consisting of Ian Mitchell, Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Chad Krys, and, at the time, Henri Jokiharju, Bowen Byram already seemed like the selection for them not to make. This narrowed it down to players like Alex Turcotte, Kirby Dach, and Alex Newhook.  Alex Turcotte, C Turcotte, going into the draft, seemed to be the best possible option behind the obvious picks of Kaapo Kakko and Jack Hughes, and he looked to fit the role that the BlackhawksRead More →

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Valentine’s Day has passed, so what better way to mend a broken heart than by seeing one of your favourite players shipped out of town…With the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching, one of the bigger names likely to be moved is pending UFA, Philadelphia Flyer’s veteran winger Wayne Simmonds. Embed from Getty Images Depending on your roster he’d likely slot in on the second or third line and would provide teams a reliable presence, a proven playoff contributor (21pts in 42 gms) with a physical edge to his game belying his size. So, who among the possible playoff bound would most likely be in needRead More →

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With the NHL All Star weekend upon us, it’s fitting to look back and think of the All Star games that we watched growing up. With so many great players being in the games of yesteryear, we here at The 4th Line Podcast endeavoured to find the best All Star that a particular team had. The criteria: Which player had the best collection of years with that team? Sure, Wayne Gretzky was the best player to ever play on the St. Louis Blues, but with only 18 games with the team, he’s not their All Time All Star. So, without further ado…… Calgary Flames JaromeRead More →