The 4th Line Podcast

This week we preview actual games that will be happening! GAMES! OF HOCKEY! The NHL has announced their plan for the 2021 season. We review all of the changes including: – the timeline for the season – the new divisions, increased divisional play and changes to the playoffs – teams playing in new cities, with some cities allowing fans – taxi squads, three goalies and the death of the emergency backup goalie Nikita Kucherov might start the year on the injured reserve for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Is this a blessing in disguise for their cap woes? Henrik Lundqvist is unable to play for theRead More →

The NHL is returning! (Probably. Maybe.) A cheating scandal is hitting Swedish hockey, as details continue to come out. Is there any possible scenario where a team can justify intentionally losing a game? Details of the 2020-2021 season have come out, including a re-alignment of the divisions. Who are the favorites to win and finish last in each division? With the NHL no longer wanting more money from the players, what creative advertising approaches are favorable? The World Junior Hockey Championships are scheduled to start on Christmas Day, if the teams can ever make the plane trip over. Our Summer Top 10 List takes aRead More →

Another week, another lack of true update about the upcoming season! The NHL didn’t confirm a start date for the season, but it has been confirmed that the season will not be starting January 1st. What can be expected as we near the start date for the season? Are there creative options to getting the season going? With the NHL season still waiting, the World Junior Hockey Championship will be taking place in Edmonton in December. What can we expect from that tournament? We will not be watching Alexis Lafrenière, even though his New York Rangers are not playing games. Are they making the rightRead More →

We have news! And among the news is the naming of Joe Sakic as the top general manager. Oh boy! But how will Stevie Nick handle his namesake not being on top? Mikhail Sergachev and the Tampa Bay Lightning reach an extension. What does this do for the rest of the restricted free agent landscape remaining? Both the Vegas Golden Knights and Columbus Blue Jackets had players test positive for COVID. So did the Canadian World Junior team. And the NHL has yet to announce their plan for the coming season. Gary Bettman still wants games to start January 1st. Is that possible? The SummerRead More →

The NHL was delayed in announcing their plans for the upcoming season, but we weren’t delayed in being back for another offseason episode! The NHL wants players to defer even more of their money. How will this impact the chances of hockey in 2021? And will this mean less flexibility by the players? Kendall Coyne Schofield joined the Chicago Blackhawks coaching staff in two very well deserved roles. In this week’s flashback, we have TWO bests in our best and worst of the week. Braden Holtby tried to move to Vancouver, but was held back by his tortoises. Why exactly? Nick will find out! ThisRead More →

With no NHL news we look back at what was in the news in the past! What happened this time in 2019? Which coach was almost fired and which player had just come off an amazing week? The NHL released the Retro Reverse jerseys this week. What were the hits and misses for the latest batch of alternate jerseys? Will this new type of jersey approach be a way of the future for the NHL? The Summer Top 10 list has us looking at the top foods around the NHL, bringing up debates like pineapple on pizza, where queso belongs on the list and theRead More →

On the heals of last week’s Summer Top 10 List, Auston Matthews was inspired by our mustache theme to do some work of his own. Gary Bettman finally addressed what next season may look like and it’s similar to what has been rumored. New divisions. Bubbles. No bubbles. And even more uncertainty! A collection of players signed extensions, and we share our thoughts on Roope Hintz, Anthony Mantha, Ryan Strome and Ryan Pulock. The Jordan Theory is created, trying to explain the careers of Jordan Staal and Jordan Subban. The Summer Top 10 List takes us to the Top 10 2nd overall NHL draft picks,Read More →

We’re back and so is the Summer Top 10 List! The OHL is looking into the possibility of being forced to play without hitting this season. What would that even look like? And how realistic is it tat this will happen? The NHL is still looking at what this upcoming season will look like. 48 games? Waiting until after the Olympics? Mitchell Miller was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes. And then when news came out of his past, they stood by their pick and eventually renounced the pick. Is this what the NHL meant by “Listening and learning”? It’s time for the Summer Top 10Read More →