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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, General, NHL
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Growing up in the Buffalo area exposes one to every opinion on tanking for the best draft odds. The local media shares contrasting views as the Sabres were in last place, for two consecutive years. As Buffalo is close to last in the NHL again, the debate is ongoing. The 2015 race for 30th achieved the desired result: a franchise center. Before you comment; yes, Jack Eichel is a franchise center despite the suckfest that is the Buffalo Sabres. Lacking significant improvement since then, certain media claims that tanking leads to a losing culture. Just look at Twitter and notice the heated discussions about theRead More →

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In: Central Division
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Welcome back to the third edition of deadline deals. A series where I break down what I think is best for each team as they approach the trade deadline. Today’s focus is on the Central division as we move out West! If you missed it, you can check out the Metro and Atlantic editions! #1 Chicago Blackhawks: The Hawks find themselves in a position they really have not been in years. A team really on the outside looking, with slim shots at the playoffs. MoneyPuck currently has them at a 20% chance at playoffs. With no Corey Crawford for maybe the rest of the year,Read More →

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In: Central Division, Metropolitan Division, NHL
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At this point of the season, the playoff picture is all but clear. Some teams aren’t going anywhere but some teams. have all but cemented their spots and other teams won’t go down without a fight. The teams that are in a position to lose their seat and the teams still clawing away to make the playoffs, all need a little tweaking if they want to get/stay there. New York Rangers 6th in the Metropolitan division, one point behind the Islanders who hold the second wild card spot, but the Rangers still have one game at hand . Second last in the NHL for SA/GPRead More →

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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, Metropolitan Division, NHL, Pacific Division
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Welcome to the newest series on the 4th Line! This is a series where I will be looking at the top 5 draft steals. Now these won’t always just be the 6th and 7th rounders of a draft. My aim here is to find some of the best players of the draft that weren’t taken where they should have been. This means there may be late first rounders, or second rounders included. With this in mind let’s start our first draft, 2010! Honourable Mention – Petr Mrazek, Round 5, 141st Overall: I am giving Petr Mrazek an honourable mention here because finding a possible starterRead More →

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In: Central Division
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Nathan MacKinnon was picked 1st overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He posted 78 and 75 points for the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMHJL, but showed a lot of potential and upside. Picked in front of names like Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones, and Sean Monahan; MacKinnon had been rumoured to be a superstar for years now. How could he not? His rookie season he put up 63 points, and showed elite levels of offensive flash. He then struggled to find the net as much in his next 3 years, but MacKinnon finally looks like the superstar the Avs haveRead More →

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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, Metropolitan Division, NHL, Pacific Division
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If I was to build an NHL team from scratch, I would start by looking at centers. It’s a tough position play and maybe the hardest to acquire. So today let’s dive into my top 10 centers in the NHL which I ranked using 3 main variables. The first is power-play prowess, which is how well players produce weighted points and shots on the power-play. The second is their offence which considers their ability to drive play offensively, produce points, and draw penalties. The final is their defense, which is a mix of their shot and expected goal suppression, ability to not take penalties, winRead More →

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In: Central Division, NHL, Pacific Division
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The Holidays are almost here, and I have decided to switch up from my regular thoughts on the Sens. I am focusing on ranking teams 1-15 on how likely it is they win the Stanley Cup. “Technically” speaking no teams are eliminated from playoff contention yet. So for this edition I will be ranking all 15 teams in the Western Conference. If you missed the East you can check it out here! Teams With No Chance These are the teams that just don’t have a chance of making playoffs, let alone winning a cup. 15. Arizona Coyotes This seems like a very easy one. CurrentlyRead More →

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In: Central Division
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The St Louis Blues are off to a fast start this season. Second in the Western Conference and now one the NHL’s most potent attacking forces. However, part of this success is down to 25-year-old Saskatchewan native Jaden Schwartz. Due to Vladimir Tarasenko‘s brilliance on the ice- many tend to ignore the importance this young man has to this team. In 2017-18 Schwartz is emerging as one of St Louis’ vital elements. Embed from Getty Images Let me start by saying that I understand he has never not been a key player for this franchise. While he’s an alternate captain, Schwartz has always come acrossRead More →

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In: Central Division, Pacific Division, Review
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With a quarter of the NHL’s 2017/18 season already under its belt, it’s time to take a look back and reflect on how the teams are performing at this early stage. Given that less is more, especially in today’s TL:DR society, I wanted to mix things up a little. Instead of the usual review format, we’ll be looking at each team using the form of the Haiku poem. Last time we looked at the teams in the Eastern Conference, today it’s the turn of the west! Anaheim Ducks Embed from Getty Images Getzlaf and Kesler Both injured, Ducks make odd trades Must do better nowRead More →

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In: Central Division
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Editor’s Note: On November 19th, 2017 the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings faced off in a hockey match. A bet was placed between Carl Landra and Nick Seguin, managing editor of Wing’s Nation. As the Red Wings lost, Nick has brought us this piece on the defense of Claude Lemieux. Claude Lemieux doesn’t get the praise that he truly deserves. Through his illustrious twenty year career, Lemieux played in 1,215 NHL games, scoring 379 goals and 786 points (0.64 points per game). I mean, talk about a point-getter! Let’s not get caught up in the points, though. There is more to a player thanRead More →