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With the new NHL season a week away, exhibition games are in full swing, teams are setting their rosters and those outstanding RFA’s have signed with their organisations to get back before the puck drops. Well, most of them…News broke Monday night that Brady Tkachuk’s camp and the Senators are still at a stalemate, meaning the much maligned, problem plagued O-Train isn’t the only thing derailed in the nation’s capital these days. Embed from Getty Images The usual insiders are reporting that several issues are holding up the process: First that Tkachuk would prefer a bridge deal (akin to Elias Pettersson in Vancouver) presumably bankingRead More →

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It’s season preview time! And that’s not even the biggest news of the week! Nick has discovered something called a “Deathmatch Circus” and former NHL’er Darren McCarty will be taking part in one. What’s the worst that can happen? NHL coaches, such as Sylvain Lefebvre, are losing jobs because of their decisions to not be vaccinated. What other fallout can be expected from this? It is time for the big news: We are retiring! Join us for our farewell tour, dubbed The Snides Tour, where we bring you the gifts, during the final season of The 4th Line Podcast. Thank you to everyone who’s joinedRead More →

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With NHL training camps getting under way, and the Habs and Canes once again providing more offseason content than the rest of the league combined, we can finally circle back to one of our intrepid editor’s favourite subjects: Offer Sheets. Nearly as rare as a Leafs post season run (and usually as successful) this is a weapon under the CBA that players and GM’s alike can take advantage of, yet so many are reluctant. Why? Well, as we’ve seen with Montreal and Carolina, you risk putting out an offer that’s easily matched than instantly looking foolish, (not to mention the compensation) and subsequently putting theRead More →

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There is no storybook ending, no encore at Madison Square Garden, but Henrik Lundqvist will go down as one of the brightest lights to ever grace Broadway. The 39-year-old goaltender announced today (August 20th, 2021), that he hung up the skates for good. A year after announcing he had heart inflammation that caused him to miss all last season. Embed from Getty Images While the tristate area has been home to many legendary goalies, Henrik always had a little something extra to him. Could it be his demeanor on the ice? Maybe the fact that he was the backbone of an original six-team in theRead 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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Alright Washington Capitals fans, put away your pitchforks and call off Tom Wilson! I am not saying Alex Ovechkin will leave D.C. However, I feel there is a good argument here. This season marked Ovi’s 16th season with the Capitals. Washington will do everything in its power to lock their captain down for life. You get the sense that Ovechkin is probably keen for this to happen as well. Last season unfortunately saw yet another early playoff exit and this is where a certain doubt starts to creep in. Embed from Getty Images This question begs a big discussion and Joe Martini and I willRead 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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Brodie’s Thoughts In the illustrious words of Homer Simpson “That was fast…” With the soccer world up in arms over the proposed Super League, comprised of six power house British Premier League clubs and a number of vaunted European squads, the guys recently discussed its incredibly tumultuous, and rapid demise. It did however yield some positives: the intriguing question of should North American sports adopt the relegation format of European leagues? It’s an entertaining prospect to think of, though ultimately about as pragmatic as wearing running shoes to play in the NHL. As the old adage goes, “The answer to all your questions is money.”Read 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 →