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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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Before the puck even drops for the regular season, let’s make crazy predictions. Who will win the 2018-2019 Stanley Cup? Which NHL team will surprise you? And which team will let you down? The Surprise: St. Louis Blues With newly acquired forwards like Tyler Bozak (11G, 32A), Patrick Maroon (17G, 26A) and Ryan O’Reilly (24G, 37A) the St Louis Blues have added grit and point producers this off season. These new acquisitions should bring a big jump to the team who respectfully finished fifth in the extremely tough Central division. Ryan O’Reilly might be the most exciting piece the Blues have added, but he isRead More →

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As the arrow of time advances from summer to fall, we can all rejoice at the impending return of the NHL. Here at 4th Line Towers we can’t wait to watch some proper hockey again. This year we’re approaching our previews in a different way; the word count for each team’s preview has been dictated by the number of points that team scored last season. To further mix things up, we’ve divvied up the teams between our writers and some special guests. Let the Central division preview begin! Nashville Predators – Mike Laybourne 2017/18: 117 points For a good preview on the Preds, go read last season’sRead More →

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NHL free agency is upon us and that means that we finally found out that JOHN TAVARES WENT TO JOEL’S TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS! Resident New York Islanders fan ,Matt from Reasons Are Several, joins us to get both sides of the story, looking at Tavares coming and going. Other news of the week includes, but is not limited to: James van Riemsdyk signing with the Philadelphia Flyers The St. Louis Blues bringing in Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly Carl’s Colorado Avalanche adding Ian Cole and Matt Calvert The Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings making the most confusing deals of the day RyanRead More →

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been counting down the 12 best players to ever be drafted 2nd overall. So far Eric Staal, Tom Lysiak, Jason Spezza, Dave Babych, Trevor Linden, Kirk Muller, Brad Park, Daniel Sedin, Brian Bellows, Marcel Dionne and Patrick Marleau have all been inducted into our own hall of fame, and as it’s Christmas day, it’s time to reveal the 4th Line Podcast’s best number 2 draft pick of the modern NHL Entry Draft Era. He’s the man who used to wield the ban, now he’s the man with the plan. Sorry, Carl, it’s not Gabriel Landeskog! 1. Brendan Shanahan, LWRead More →

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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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Nail Yakupov was a healthy scratch for St Louis on Saturday. This was now the fifth time in eight games. Does the 22-year-old still merit a place in the NHL? In only 14 games, the Russian has only scored 4 points. The Blues appear to be losing patience with him. In his NHL career, this has become a recurring theme. After an underwhelming 4-year stint in Edmonton, the writing has been on the wall. The question for coach Ken Hitchcock will be whether or not to keep him? Yakupov has been unable to match the high expectations required as a number one pick. It was recentlyRead More →

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The season is just days away, and we’ve reached part three of our series looking previewing each team’s schedules. Until Prudhoe Bay, Alaska gets an NHL team (sort it out Bettman), the farthest distance between two teams is the trip from the Vancouver Canucks to the Florida Panthers. A journey by air of 2,780 miles. Considering that the Canucks are one of the worst teams in the NHL, they could save a whole of rainforest by just sending the two points by email with the subject title ‘foregone conclusion’. Geographically speaking, the closest teams in the NHL, perhaps unsurprisingly are the New York Rangers andRead More →

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The guys are back as they talk about the opening games of the World Cup of Hockey, including the Americans struggles, Canada’s excellence, Rinne’s struggles and the speed of the young guns. They also predict the finalists and talk about the potential outcomes of contract situations for restricted free agents like Gaudreau and Kucherov. Joel tries to get into a feud with Bailey from the the LA Kings, they talk best Twitter follows in hockey, and try to plan how to go to a game in Vegas with so many season tickets sold. Carl and Joel then preview the entire Central division, going from theRead More →